Dev 360 | Clean Air As Privilege: It’s India’s Hidden Inequality | Patralekha Chatterjee

India’s Parliament closed its Winter Session this week, leaving the nation’s air pollution crisis undebated.

As I move around the nation’s smoggy capital city -- an N95 mask strapped to my face -- navigating an AQI that frequently exceeds 400, one question comes to mind.

Why is India -- so vocal on climate change and greenhouse gases -- in mute mode on domestic air pollution? It is now a pan-Indian crisis whose deadly impacts millions live daily.

India has emerged as one of the most vocal players in the global climate negotiations. At every climate summit, Indian officials remind the world that developed nations bear historical responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions, while countries like India are still climbing the development ladder. The argument is compelling: why should a nation with per capita emissions far below the global average be asked to sacrifice growth when the West has already industrialised on the back of fossil fuels? This stance has won India recognition as a defender of climate equity and a voice of the Global South, demanding climate finance, technology transfer, and fair timelines for decarbonisation. In the international arena, greenhouse gases are framed as a matter of justice between nations.

Yet, back home, the air tells a different story. India’s domestic air pollution crisis is among the worst in the world. Cities like Delhi, Ghaziabad, Karnal, Lucknow and Patna routinely choke under toxic haze, with air quality indices in the “hazardous” range.

The health toll is staggering: shortened life expectancy, rising respiratory illnesses, and lost productivity.

But unlike its climate diplomacy, India’s domestic response is muted, fragmented, and politically cautious. On December 12, 2025, the government stated in Parliament that WHO air quality norms are only advisory and that international pollution rankings, including those by IQAir, hold no official recognition in India; it reiterated reliance on the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), covering 12 pollutants.

As experts say repeatedly, India does not lack knowledge to address air pollution. It lacks sustained political will, transparency, and accountability.

“Air pollution cuts across sectors and state boundaries, but responsibility remains fragmented. Without clear data, open reporting, strong coordination, enforcement, and follow through beyond headlines, the crisis returns year after year,” says Dr Roxy Koll, eminent climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune.

“India is vocal about climate change and greenhouse gases in international fora, but not so vocal about air pollution at home, which severely affects the health of millions. India has a conservative stand on accepting health impacts of air pollution and rejects WHO norms. This does not mean India has not taken steps -- electrification of transport, GRAP, stricter vehicular emission standards -- but given the severity of the problem, significant reduction will happen only with much more aggressive load reduction across all sectors contributing to polluted air,” Sunil Dahiya, clean air advocate, and founder of “Envirocatalyst”, told me.

“Air pollution is still not an electoral issue. There are protests, but we are yet to see sustained outrage across geographies. For the poor, daily wage labourers, ill-health and higher medical bills are less important than securing work each day, even outdoors. Middle classes can be weaned off vehicles only if there is huge investment in safe and accessible transport,” he adds.

Part of the challenge lies in electoral politics and economics. Air pollution is tied to industries that drive GDP growth -- coal power, construction, transport and agriculture. Strict enforcement risks slowing development and angering powerful lobbies. Responsibility is diffuse: stubble burning in Punjab, vehicle emissions in Delhi, industrial smoke in Jharkhand, biomass burning. No single actor can be blamed, so national leaders prefer to avoid owning the crisis.

Framing matters. Internationally, greenhouse gases are a global problem demanding collective action. Domestically, air pollution is seen as a local nuisance, episodic and seasonal. Smog spikes dominate headlines in winter, but once the haze clears, the issue fades from public debate. Unlike continuous, high profile climate diplomacy, air pollution is treated as a temporary inconvenience.

Ordinary Indians have noticed the imbalance. Citizens in polluted metros openly discuss the injustice of breathing toxic air daily. Media outlets highlight the health burden, think tanks warn that air pollution and climate change are inseparable. We have begun to see protests. Yet awareness is uneven -- for many outside the worst hit cities, pollution is normalised as an unavoidable part of urban life.

This brings us to the most troubling dimension: inequality. In the noise around air pollution, one truth is sidelined: its unequal burden. Dirty air spares no one, but it punishes some far more than others. In India, clean air has become a privilege. Wealthier households and corporations can afford air purifiers, sealed office spaces, cars with filters, and even “oxygen bars” for temporary reprieve. Luxury hotels in Delhi leverage their “clean air”.

The Oberoi, Lutyens’ Delhi’s iconic luxury hotel, has installed state-of-the-art clean air technology and welcomes guests with the promise of air quality on par with global standards.

For the majority, however, there is no escape. Construction workers, street vendors, delivery staff, rickshaw drivers and agricultural labourers spend their days outdoors, breathing toxic air directly. They cannot afford purifiers or protective gear. Their children face higher risks of asthma and stunted lung development; their elderly suffer more from chronic respiratory disease.

The result is a two tiered workforce: the protected (white collar employees in climate controlled offices) versus the exposed (informal and outdoor workers, whose health and productivity are eroded). This divide has created a hidden caste system of air access.

India’s civilisational pride narrative, often invoked by the ruling establishment, emphasises ancient traditions of harmony with nature to project cultural superiority. This allows claims of moral authority on environmental issues, even as modern realities like vehicular emissions, coal dependence, and construction dust contradict it. By emphasising heritage and sovereignty, the leadership deflects criticism of domestic standards, portraying global benchmarks as Western impositions. It is time to reframe air pollution not as a seasonal inconvenience but as a justice issue. Just as India insists on fairness between nations in climate negotiations, it must insist on fairness between classes at home.

Clean air is not a luxury good. It must be treated as a public right, enforced through stronger regulation, investment in clean energy, and accountability across sectors. India’s climate diplomacy has shown it can speak powerfully about equity. The question is whether it can apply the same principle domestically. Until then, the contradiction will endure: a nation demanding fairness abroad while tolerating inequality at home -- where even the air is divided between the privileged and the exposed.