Most in India’s Hindi belt support fireworks sale ban. Don’t let TV tell you otherwise

When informed of consequences people react differently

PRASHNAM INSIGHT #46

Diwali, the festival of lights, noise, sulphur, and potassium; concluded last week. The pollution levels have shot up in and around the national capital.

There have been conflicting views on the banning of fireworks during Diwali. Prashnam decided to ask the people in 9 Hindi states namely - Bihar, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, about banning fireworks.

Prashnam did two different surveys simultaneously asking the following questions. In the first survey, a straight question was asked while in the second an elaborate one. The reason was to examine the difference in opinions of the people to these two questions.

Survey 2

The responses to both the surveys were similar. When the question is elaborately put, there is almost a 20 % increase in the respondents favouring ban on fireworks. Persistent awareness about health hazards due to fireworks can bring a robust consensus on ban on fireworks.

Read the full report in The Print here.

The raw response data is available here.