Toxic air is a product of toxic politics. The toxicity comes in many forms. Denial, across the political spectrum, of how grave the problem is. Distraction, where the circus of politics keeps us from confronting serious issues. Division, where identity and vested interests block any coalition for change. And when all else fails, Destiny: Pollution becomes the inevitable price of modernisation, a sacrifice this generation must make for some future “powerhouse” glory.
Air pollution has never been a voting issue. Even those who care about it don’t cast their ballots on it. That is partly because there’s little to choose between political parties. The rewards of good policy lie well beyond the next election cycle. And the problem itself is tangled in institutional knots — fragmented powers, uncoordinated regulators, entrenched lobbies and citizens divided by contradictory interests.
Yet what’s most striking is elite indifference. India’s elites could, without much cost to themselves, push for cleaner air. But they don’t. Indeed, solving air pollution is not just a scientific problem. But listening to discussions amongst the well-heeled in Delhi, you realise how ascientific they are, not unscientific, but wedded to the ideology of science rather than its method. They revere science as a symbol, not as a habit of mind. Public debate has long lacked sober, plainspoken scientific voices. So politicians get away with performative gimmicks — odd-even schemes, vacuum trucks, purifiers on traffic islands, with the confidence that no one with influence will call them out.
Control over the media, suppression of protest, and branding of environmental activism as “foreign-funded” will make mobilisation even harder. The media, for the most part, are willing accomplices. But the mood is shifting. The charade — “Who do you believe, my doctored data or your dying lungs?” — is wearing thin.
We may be nearing a tipping point. The question is no longer whether people will be angry, but how that anger will find a political voice. Social movements need a focal point. They also need politics and the media to be willing to amplify their concerns. The disillusionment with civil society-led movements is deep in the aftermath of the anti-corruption movement, though ironically, our terrible environmental story is in large part a corruption story. Even governments can respond, if the issue can be addressed through a discrete, time-bound act: Passing a law, replacing a fleet of buses, announcing a mission. But tackling air pollution across north India means confronting everything at once — urban design, transport, agriculture, industry, informal sector, construction, and dust. The scale itself becomes the perfect alibi. It’s all too complex, we are told. If not, there’s always the weather, or winds from Pakistan, to blame.
Of course, this complexity argument belies the fact that most countries in the world have a better record on air pollution than India. Solving this is complex, but it is not rocket science. India produces wonderful organisations from the Centre of Science and Environment to the Sustainable Futures Collaborative that can guide you through the science and regulatory measures. In the short run, the task is to resist this complexity gambit.
We need to focus, instead, on the agency that produces the current system, specific leaders and officials doing specific things. Yes, India is a poor country with limited state capacity and a tangled political economy. But those truths have become ideological cover. “Complexity” and “political economy” now function as excuses for inaction. Much of what we call lack of capacity is itself politically induced — a symptom, not a cause. Fragmented jurisdictions, weak local governments, understaffed regulators: These are deliberate political choices, not natural constraints. They can be reversed.
Even granting a degree of complexity, there is still enormous agency within the system. Particular actors are choosing not to use it. Let us cut through the pretence. No institutional barrier prevents the Prime Minister and relevant chief ministers from coordinating a mission-mode response to seasonal crop burning. That could be a real test of “cooperative federalism”. Nothing stops cities like Gurgaon from implementing efficient, centralised waste management systems. If the city lacks legal empowerment, the state government can step in. Why are television channels not asking why pollution norms for thermal plants were relaxed? Why are unpaved roads not being sealed? What stops the upgrading of brick kilns?
It is said that elites will not give up their cars or accept a shift to public transport. There is some truth to this. But India’s urban and transport architecture is now dictated not even by elites, but by contractors. If every pollution-related agency is criminally understaffed, name the ministries responsible. Nothing prevents senior politicians from giving this issue salience. It is hard to exaggerate the stakes: The shape of India’s growth story — and the health of its citizens — depends on how we tackle air pollution. Even in purely instrumental terms, it has become a growth inhibitor. Yet have we heard a single credible, substantive speech from the Prime Minister or the environment minister on the subject? Has any journalist asked them serious questions that hold their feet to the fire?
The Commission on Air Quality Management’s annual report offers a telling example. On paper, there is action. But the emphasis remains on instruments, not outcomes. The Commission’s experts, co-opted in the hope that having a seat at the table means influence, seem unwilling to act as a public conscience. Why not turn the Commission into a genuine bully pulpit — demanding accountability, holding open hearings, compelling ministers to answer pointed questions?
Unless each actor in this chain of responsibility is named and shamed, “state incapacity” will continue to mask political choice. Toxic air is sustained by toxic politics. And if that politics continues unchallenged, it will soon turn into something more dangerous still, a toxic distemper. Ignore it at your peril.
The writer is contributing editor, The Indian Express
