The West Bengal Police on November 5 posted a message on X, calling for citizens to celebrate Diwali responsibly. The AI-generated poster showed a stray dog and two cats taking shelter from firecrackers. It said, "Please celebrate responsibly. It's our Diwali too!"
The post, which was made at 8:29 am, was however taken down within 3 hours. (Archive)
In recent years, campaigns highlighting the environmental impact of firecrackers and calling for restrictions during Diwali have increasingly been framed by a section of the Right wing as an affront to Hindu religious sentiments. The issue of air pollution, consequently, has often been recast as a communal debate, with calls for curbs on firecrackers portrayed as selective targeting of Hindu festivals.
In the same vein, several social media users took offence to Bengal police's awareness post, claiming that it was a case of selective bias against Hindus. Users began commenting under the post, some of whom went as far as to tag chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, questioning why similar awareness campaigns were allegedly absent during Eid and Christmas.
Some of the comments are displayed in the gallery below. (A few of them contain abusive words. Reader discretion is advised).
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Following the backlash, the post was deleted. West Bengal police offered no explanation or clarification as to why the post was removed. Many had anticipated that the West Bengal Police would backtrack on its awareness campaign as this incident forms part of a pattern of state authorities taking down posts on firecracker awareness ahead of Diwali following backlash.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Pattern of Deletion
Alt News had earlier reported that on October 25, Delhi Police had deleted an X post, which raised awareness about a cracker-free Diwali, within hours of posting it. On that occasion, too, social media users had predicted that the post would be removed soon.
Again, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) removed a similar video featuring actress Dia Mirza advocating for a pollution-free Diwali from its social media handles. Both decisions came in the wake of social media outrage from BJP-RSS supporters that these posts hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus. Justice G S Kulkarni of the Bombay high court then directed BMC to re-upload Mirza's video, remarking "She (Dia Mirza) rendered a really really good message in terms of air pollution... These (opposing Mirza) are stray thoughts of very few people and we should avoid them..."
A video uploaded by AISA president Neha Bora calling for an environment-friendly Diwali was likewise condemned by the Hindutva brigade.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
On November 4, actress Soni Razdan's social media advocacy for a pollution-free Diwali was also derided by several users. "People can’t understand a simple message because they think every statement is about religion," she retorted to an X post that had targeted her.
Alt News also found that the official X handle of West Bengal Police had made similar awareness campaigns around Diwali, in both 2024 and 2025. These posts still exist.
न्यूज़ हिमाचली News Himachali | हिमाचल की No. 1 हिंदी वेबसाइट CM योगी का बड़ा बयान, UP में सभी भर्ती परीक्षाओं के लिए बने एक एज...
न्यूज़ हिमाचली News Himachali | हिमाचल की No. 1 हिंदी वेबसाइट जब सोफिया हयात ने रोहित शर्मा और विराट कोहली को लेकर किए अश्लील ...
न्यूज़ हिमाचली News Himachali | हिमाचल की No. 1 हिंदी वेबसाइट एक मोबाइल फोन और 7000 रुपये, कैसे इस स्कूली छात्र ने चंद महीनों ...
तहकीकात न्यूज़ GORAKHPUR सपा झंडे रंग में रगा गया गोरखपुर में शौचालय,सपा जिलाध्यक्ष ने दिया ज्ञापन जताया विरोध VARANASI भार...
तहकीकात न्यूज़ उतरौला क्षेत्र में पलता रहा अस्तीन का साँप,नही थी किसी को ख़बर बॉर्डर क्षेत्र से गुजरने वाले संदिग्ध वाहनों क...
Hello, my name is Ankit Sahu. I'm a 25 year old self-employed Pirate from the Chhindwara.