Editing Firecracker (section)

===India===
{{main|Firecrackers in India}}
[[File:Crackers vishu 5.jpg|thumb|Bullet Bomb Firecracker]]
[[File:Firecracker shop on Diwali.jpg|thumb|Firecracker shop in [[Nagpur]] during [[Diwali]]]]

Firecrackers are easily available in India and are used to mark a celebratory event. They are legal, and anyone 18 and over can buy them without a licence.

[[Vijayadashami]] and [[Diwali]] fireworks are a family event in many parts of India.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kanpur/Til-oil-bath-marks-Chhoti-Diwali-celebrations/articleshow/25147777.cms | archive-url=https://archive.today/20131205212502/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-11-03/kanpur/43627803_1_diwali-eve-celebrations-bath | url-status=live | archive-date=5 December 2013 | newspaper=[[The Times of India]] | title=Til oil bath marks Chhoti Diwali celebrations | date=3 November 2013}}</ref> People light up fireworks near their homes and in streets. Additionally, cities and communities have community fireworks.

This custom may have begun on the Indian subcontinent after 1400 CE when gunpowder started being utilised in Indian warfare.<ref name="IEHistory">{{cite news |title=A brief and crackling history of fireworks in India |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/research/a-crackling-history-of-fireworks-in-india-4890178/ |access-date=17 November 2020 |work=The Indian Express |date=14 November 2020}}</ref>

India's first fireworks factory was established in Calcutta during the 19th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/research/a-crackling-history-of-fireworks-in-india-4890178/|title=A brief and crackling history of fireworks in India|work=The Indian Express|date=14 November 2020|access-date=2021-12-18}}</ref>

In October and November, farmers from [[Punjab]] and [[Haryana]] burn agricultural waste and the weather tends not to be windy, so Delhi's air pollution usually increases, which has been a major environmental problem in recent years.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|agency=Reuters|date=15 November 2020|title=Northern India chokes on toxic smog day after Diwali festival|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/15/india/toxic-smog-diwali-intl/index.html|access-date=15 November 2020|work=CNN}}</ref> Firecrackers for the Diwali holiday can worsen this pollution. In October 2017, the Supreme Court banned firecrackers in Delhi, as a result of which the industry said it faced losses of Rs 1,000-crore and consequently layoffs.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/sc-ban-on-firecrackers-industry-stares-at-rs-1-000-crore-loss-layoffs/story-zctMTeZ16DaPf4O5DWggJI.html|title=SC ban on firecrackers: Industry stares at Rs 1,000-crore loss, layoffs|date=2017-10-09|work=hindustantimes.com/|access-date=2017-10-09}}</ref>

After India's [[National Green Tribunal]] (NGT) ordered a ban in the [[National Capital Region (India)|NCR]] region on the sale and use of crackers in 2020, the [[Council for Scientific and Industrial Research]] (CSIR) developed "green crackers" that used less polluting raw materials. Several states in India have either banned firecrackers or limited the time, noise level and type (mandatory use of less polluting firecrackers) that can be used.<ref name=htcrack1/> Nonetheless, many firecrackers were used to celebrate the Vijayadashami and Diwali holidays in 2020, immediately after which Delhi's air pollution was over 9 times the level that the [[World Health Organization]] considers safe.<ref name=":0" />

Aaratrika Bhaumik writing for the website "livelaw.in" mentions the ban put in place by the [[Calcutta High Court]] on firecrackers (green firecrackers included) throughout the state of [[West Bengal]] for the 2021 [[Vijayadashami]] and [[Diwali]] festivities. The ban extends to all remaining festivals in the year, such as, [[Chhath Puja]], [[Kali Puja]], [[Guru Nanak Jayanti]], [[Christmas]] and New Year's.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bhaumik|first=Aaratrika|date=2021-10-29|title=Calcutta High Court Bans Firecrackers In West Bengal During Diwali & Other Festivals|url=https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/calcutta-high-court-bans-firecrackers-west-bengal-during-diwali-other-festivals-184600|access-date=2021-10-29|website=www.livelaw.in}}</ref>