There’s a deadly smog over the capital.
A dense, suffocating haze that hangs low over buildings, institutions, and common sense. This is not the kind that makes your throat burn or your eyes water. This one, settles quietly in the mind, blurring judgment and numbing outrage.
In this smog, law enforcers struggle to distinguish between criminals and those protecting freedom. The man raising his voice for rights appears more threatening than the one quietly abusing power. Batons move faster than brains, and handcuffs seem magnetically drawn to dissent. Justice, squinting through the haze, often grabs the nearest inconvenient citizen and calls it law and order.
Journalists fare no better. Sitting behind polished desks, they inhale deeply of the same poisoned air. In this fog, injustice is repackaged as bold governance and justice is dismissed as obstruction. Headlines shout achievements while whispering failures, and sometimes not whispering them at all. Questions are edited out because answers might be uncomfortable. Silence is called balance, and obedience is praised as responsibility.
The government insists it sees clearly. In fact, it assures us the visibility has never been better. When global indices gently but firmly point out that the nation is slipping toward the bottom in poverty, freedom of expression, and corruption, the response is indignation rather than introspection. The data is questioned, messengers mocked, and truth, accused of having a political agenda.
And then the dinner invitations: In the smog, etiquette becomes strategy. The leader of the opposition is not invited, but a friendly dictionary brained opponent is. This, we are told, is statesmanship. Exclusion is dressed up as diplomacy. Loyalty is measured not by constitutional role but by personal convenience. Those left out are accused of being irrelevant, while those invited are paraded as proof of inclusiveness.
Inside the House and outside on the streets, the smog grows thicker. Leaders shout hate speeches with alarming ease. Some are scripted, others spontaneous, but all are delivered with confidence. The applause is thunderous, loud enough to drown conscience. Division is celebrated as clarity, and prejudice is waved like a flag.
Meanwhile, ordinary citizens walk through this smoggy haze sensing something is wrong even if they cannot name it. They notice that asking a question now requires courage, and silence feels safer than speech. They wonder when love for the country only means unquestioning loyalty to those in power.
There is smog over the capital.
It dulls empathy, distorts vision, and convinces people that shouting is the same as strength. This is not a problem that can be solved with emergency meetings or reassuring speeches. This smog will lift only when we voters force political leaders to choose humility over hubris, truth over triumph, fairness over fear, and accountability over applause.
Until then, breathe carefully. This smog does not merely cloud the air. It clouds the soul of a nation…!
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Robert Clements is a newspaper columnist and writes a daily column, which has graced the pages of over 60 newspapers and magazines, from a daily column in the Khaleej Times, Dubai, the Morning Star, London, and in nearly every state in India, from The Statesman in Kolkata, to the Kashmir Times in Kashmir to the Trinity Mirror in Chennai.
Clement,
You speak Soul to Soul, in a Voice that strives to awaken the Conscience of our Country.
May your Words fall on good Soil and sprout in the Holiness of Human Hearts.
Thank you Janet
I have posted this splendid truthful article in several groups. This is the stark reality that we face in our nation today. When will the nation’s conscience awaken? Thank you very much dear Robert for speaking out so powerfully on behalf of the good citizens of our nation India.
Thank you very much Altino!
This piece is unsettling precisely because it feels so familiar. The metaphor of smog works not as exaggeration, but as quiet truth something that creeps in, dulls the senses, and slowly normalises what should alarm us. What struck me most is how power, media, and public silence are shown to feed the same haze, each reinforcing the other. The essay does not shout; it observes, and that restraint makes its critique sharper. It reminds us that democratic decay rarely arrives with noise it arrives with applause, compliance, and convenient blindness. The closing call places responsibility where it belongs: not only with leaders, but with citizens who must choose clarity over comfort.
Brilliant. Well said.
Well said. This truth about the smog can only be understood by those who have ears to hear. Such people will be ever hearing but never listening!
Powerfully put. I hope it speaks to every literate Indian who can read it
smog will lift only when we voters force political leaders to choose humility over hubris, truth over triumph, fairness over fear, and accountability over applause.
Until then, breathe carefully
Well said…
Where does one start…
Any practical tips…?.please
Very true! Thank you