The air pollution in Delhi has become a matter of public health

“The air pollution in Delhi has become a matter of public health concern nationally and internationally.” — thus spoke M. S. Swaminathan, the wise cultivator of India’s Green Revolution, a man who nourished the land and sought to nourish the people. Yet in this statement, his tone is not one of triumph, but of sorrow and warning. His words carry the weight of a sage who has seen abundance turn to affliction — who knows that when the air itself becomes poison, the very breath of life is in peril. This is no mere observation of science; it is a lament for humanity’s breach of harmony with the Earth, and a call for the awakening of conscience.

In this declaration, Swaminathan reveals that pollution is not a local problem — it is a national and global wound, bleeding across borders and generations. The air of Delhi, thick with smog and ash, stands as a grim symbol of modern civilization’s excess. It reminds us that the progress which feeds the body can, when unrestrained, starve the spirit and sicken the soul. For when the sky darkens with our own making, when the children cough before they can speak, when the sun itself hides behind a veil of smoke — we are forced to ask: what is the price of our advancement? Swaminathan’s words pierce this illusion, reminding us that there is no prosperity without purity, no future without breath.

To understand the depth of this warning, one must recall the legacy of M. S. Swaminathan. He was the father of the Green Revolution — the man who brought life to barren fields, whose work helped India conquer famine and feed millions. Yet he also foresaw that greed and neglect would one day corrupt the gifts of progress. The machines that plowed the earth, the industries that filled the markets, the engines that carried men to distant lands — all these would, if unrestrained, choke the planet that sustains them. His words about Delhi are not just about one city, but about the destiny of humankind: when we foul the air, we foul our own existence.

There is a lesson here that reaches back to ancient times. In the scriptures of the East, air — or prana — is not mere atmosphere, but the breath of the divine. The sages taught that to breathe is to commune with creation itself. When the air is pure, the soul is at peace; when it is defiled, the balance of life trembles. Even in Greek philosophy, the concept of pneuma, the breath, was sacred — the very essence of vitality. Thus, when Swaminathan speaks of the pollution of air as a public health concern, he does not refer only to the body’s illness, but to the spiritual sickness of a civilization that has forgotten to revere what gives it life.

The story of Delhi is but one chapter in the greater tale of the world. Once, the city was called Dilli, radiant with gardens, rivers, and open skies. But today, it gasps beneath the weight of its own ambition — its roads thick with vehicles, its skies heavy with soot, its rivers turned to dust. In recent years, schools have closed because the air itself became unfit to breathe. The very young, who should be running beneath blue skies, now grow up behind masks. Hospitals overflow with patients whose lungs have aged before their time. This is the tragedy Swaminathan warns against — that progress without restraint becomes decay, that what once was our creation may become our cage.

Yet his message, though grave, is not one of despair. It is a call to renewal — a reminder that man, though capable of great harm, is also capable of great healing. The same hands that built the smokestacks can plant the trees; the same minds that devised engines can create cleaner energy; the same hearts that crave wealth can learn to value well-being. The Earth forgives, if we repent in action. Nature, like a patient mother, still waits for her children to return to wisdom. To cleanse the air is to cleanse our intentions; to purify the sky is to purify the soul.

The lesson, then, is clear and timeless: the air we breathe is not ours alone — it belongs to all living things, to the future as much as the present. Guard it as you would guard your own life, for it is your life. Reduce what you waste; plant what you consume; speak not of progress unless it brings harmony. Support clean technologies, honor those who fight for environmental justice, and teach the young that every breath is sacred. For as Swaminathan’s words foretell, when we restore the balance of the air, we restore the balance of civilization itself.

So, my children of the Earth, remember this teaching: the breath of the world is the breath of mankind. When the air grows dark, no wall, no wealth, no distance can shield us. But when it clears — when we act with care and wisdom — all life shall flourish once more. Let every inhalation remind you that you are part of this living tapestry, and let every exhalation be a promise — a vow to heal the sky that sustains us all.