Every year right before Diwali, the Woke-reformist crowd goes on an intellectual binge trying to spout unsubstantiated tropes on why burning crackers during Diwali is a tradition that needs to be banned. Their logic is seldom backed by research or facts. What was first limited to social media and certain celebrities trying to get clout, then reached the Judiciary with the courts arbitrarily banning firecrackers and the government going the extra mile to ensure that those who wish to celebrate their festival are jailed. The pandemic of woke intellectualism has now diseased the academia where little kids are being brainwashed to hate their own identity, their culture and be apologetic for their festivals.

Ahead of Diwali, one such school indulged in the same exercise of doling sermons. The students were told that bursting crackers on Diwali was something they should not do and that even as a tradition, it was not a desirable one. Further, when asked about where the environmental and other sermons disappear when other religious groups celebrate their festivals, the children were told that they should not point fingers, instead, focus on rectifying their own traditions.

A mother, whose child studies in this school, was livid. A pious woman who wishes to see our traditions flourish without the baseless sermons by those who have chosen to parrot the woke line without studying the evidence. The mother also took umbrage to the fact that Hindus are the only group who are guilt-tripped before every festival, even Diwali which is one of the most important festival for Hindus, while other religious groups who consciously do far worse are never questioned.

The concerned mother shot a curt letter to the school, not only providing evidence to prove that the school’s sermons were unfounded but also calling out the deep-seated anti-Hindu bias in what the teacher was telling the children, including her child.

What the mother wrote to the school, objecting to the teacher’s anti-Diwali sermon

The mother of the child who was subjected to this official shaming attached the IIT Kanpur report on Greenhouse gases that detailed how Diwali crackers were not even the top 15 reasons that cause pollution in India.

Attaching these reports, the mother asked the school to, in turn, substantiate their own claims as a response. She said that she and the IIT could be very wrong in their understanding and that the school should now revert with their own research based on which the children were being taught that Diwali causes pollution and should therefore be stopped.

She wrote in her email that the practice of tarnishing every tradition with the choicest words and saying that even animals would get hurt only creates the impression in the mids of young children that our grand civilisation is based on traditions that are counterproductive. She wrote that ours is a civilisation way ahead of its time and the school should not, under any circumstances, tell the children that they need to feel guilty or apologetic about it. The world owes a debt to our civilisation owing to our contributions and the children should be made aware of that instead of making them feel guilty.

Writing that our understanding of our own traditions should be based on facts and not narratives, she asserted that there is an urgent need to decolonise our minds. She said that negative connotations about culture, history and tradition will not create self-assured and individuals. A generation that grows hating its culture can never be confident. It will always run away from its roots. 

In the letter that the mother wrote, she hoped that these issues would also be highlighted given that these are subjects that are often pushed under the rug due to the fear of being judged.

What does it say about the school, our academia and the times we live in

Firstly, it is important to note that every year, the air quality is usually terrible even before Diwali and after it due to stubble-burning in Punjab and other states. No government has done absolutely anything to solve that problem. Political parties are hesitant to act because it might dampen their prospects in the next elections. Under such circumstances, firecrackers are very easy scapegoats.

The other point to be noted is that firecrackers are bad only during Diwali. When crackers are burst during New Year celebrations or on Christmas, they do not cause any pollution at all. Similarly, no pollution is caused when firecrackers are burst while celebrating victories in elections; by the same parties that have banned crackers during Diwali. Pollution causing firecrackers are only to be found during Diwali.

It is indeed true that IIT-Kanpur and several other research papers have noted in detail how firecrackers during Diwali is not even a top reason for pollution in any city. Further, the Supreme Court itself recently said that the firecracker issue is temporary, however, their main concern is about stubble burning, which the wokes seem to have no problem with.

Given the times we live in, it becomes extremely clear that validation from the Left is far more important not just to the people, but even arms of the establishment, such as the Judiciary and the academia. Due to the Left’s unfounded narrative, we as a nation are not just killing our civilisation but are also raising a generation of children predisposed to hating their cultural and religious identity.

What the mother did, in this case, is brave. Brave because the consequences of swimming against the ride can be disastrous for the child. It is for this reason that we have not revealed the name of the mother, the child or the school. While the consequences can be devastating for the child, it is extremely important for parents to speak up against schools toeing this dangerous line and brainwashing our children to hate their own identity.