The festival of lights, Diwali is one of the most sacred festivals celebrated by Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs across the nation. While the festival symbolises the victory of light over darkness and good over evil, Diwali is also widely associated with Goddess Lakshmi. Diwali is also celebrated to mark the day when Lord Rama returned to his kingdom, Ayodhya, with his wife, Sita and brother, Lakshmana, after serving 14 years of exile and defeating the evil lord, Ravana. The festival is celebrated by cleaning houses and workplaces and decorating them with diyas, rangoli, and other decorative items.
Buying new clothes, vehicles, and things on Diwali is also considered extremely sacred. However, burning firecrackers is the only vital part of this festival that lands in controversies almost every year. While some people support the age-old tradition of burning firecrackers on the festival of lights, many oppose it as a direct threat to the environment and the voiceless animals, who suffer due to the crackers. However, the discussion on this topic has been quite intense in recent years, and with the entry of Bollywood celebrities into it, the internet looks nothing less than a battlefield.
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In recent years, we have seen many actors and actresses being trolled for urging people to avoid burning crackers and opting for a firecracker-free Diwali. While a lot of people backed their favourite stars and their message of not polluting the environment, many succeeded in uncovering the hypocrisy of the B-town stars, who are more like a preacher than a doer. So, without further ado, let's talk about the celebrities who had got trolled badly for supporting the idea of celebrating a firecracker-less Diwali!
A few years back, Alia Bhatt had launched a campaign, 'PoochOverPataka', in which she urged people to avoid burning firecrackers and choose the safety and happiness of pets over crackers. The actress had posted a video in which she slammed the idea of burning crackers and stated how people need to opt for a cracker-free Diwali. Although Alia's campaign received tremendous support on social media from her fanbase, but a big section of society trolled the actress for not saying a single word when crackers are burnt at marriages, launch events, celebrations, New Year parties, and many more.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas has always shared her opinions and unfiltered take on things that play a major factor in damaging the environment. However, her decision to support a firecracker-less Diwali in 2018 received a heavy backlash. Months before her wedding to Nick Jonas, the actress had promoted the harmful effects of burning crackers on Diwali and was seen telling people to avoid burning crackers.
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However, the actress was labelled as a 'hypocrite' when on December 1, 2018, which was her wedding day, a series of firecrackers were blown at Umaid Bhawan Palace to celebrate the couple's wedding. The netizens were quick to remind the actress about her teachings on burning crackers and reportedly left the actress' massive fanbase in immense embarrassment.
Last year, on November 5, 2021, India celebrated the festival of lights, Diwali, and it was Neha Dhupia Bedi, who was one of the many celebrities, who were trolled mercilessly for supporting cracker-less Diwali. The actress had taken to her Twitter handle and had shared a tweet in which she told people to stop burning crackers, as they were hurting the kids. She had written:
"Pls stop bursting firecrackers. It's hurting the environment, it's hurting us, it's hurting our children. Please."
Soon a series of tweets were directed towards her as people started advising her to stop telling everyone what to do. One such person was a police officer named, Pranav Mahajan, who urged Neha to avoid living a lavish lifestyle, as it also reportedly has a severe carbon footprint. He had tweeted:
"Stop living the ultra luxurious lifestyle having high carbon footprint. It hurts even more."
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Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli are one of the most loved couples in India, but the trolls didn't forgive them for their views about bursting crackers on Diwali. The cricketer uploaded a video on his Instagram handle on November 14, 2020, in which he requested people to avoid bursting crackers for the sake of the environment.
Virat Kohli's wife, Anushka Sharma also reshared her hubby's video and urged everyone to celebrate Diwali without crackers. However, the couple was soon reminded of the time when they enjoyed the firecracker show on Virat's birthday, after which they were labelled as 'hypocrites'.
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Indian actor, Aamir Khan had collaborated with Ceat Tyres for an advertising video, which was about the idea of avoiding bursting crackers on the roads. In the advertisement, Aamir was preaching how unsafe it is to burn firecrackers on roads, with a hilarious catch at the end of it. However, the idea behind the advertisement irked the netizens.
Soon people started asking Aamir why he had never discarded the idea of offering Namaz on the streets by his fellow Muslims. Soon the 'boycott Aamir Khan' started trending on Twitter, and people started trolling the actor and the company for hurting the sentiments of Hindus across the world.
What are your thoughts on burning firecrackers on the festival of Diwali? Share your thoughts with us.
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