Instead of Spending on Crackers This Diwali, Why Not Donate?

This Diwali spread some light rather than spreading more darkness, says a reader.

“All that glitters is not gold.’’

With crackers going high in the sky and literally  bombing the orders of the hon’ble Supreme Court, I wonder if laws are ever enough in a country where conscience has died long ago.

India’s overall estimated budget is more than 8 billion, and 836 million Indians survive on less than Rs 20 (less than half-a-dollar) a day. Over 20 crore Indians will sleep hungry tonight. 10 million people die every year of chronic hunger and hunger-related diseases.

While your cracker brings gloomy artificial light in the sky, Santoshi Kumari’s family lives in the darkness of losing their daughter due to starvation.

The 11-year-old died on 28 September at her village in Jharkhand, months after the administration allegedly stopped giving her family subsidised food.

In Odisha’s Nagada district, little Saraswati lost her life in the hands of starvation. This is no political drama or keyword activism that most of the people forget after a day or two, but a game of hide and seek with death, that many in the world are suffering through.

Before buying crackers this Diwali, think of those people for whom, a little share of your cracker budget may be more than their entire day’s food budget.

This Diwali, spread some light rather than spreading more darkness!

(The writer is a first year student of Sociology (H) at Delhi University. She can be reached @SpeakNaimisha.‏ This is a personal blog and the opinions expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)