There was an unlikely source of pollution in central Delhi on Thursday. When cars and buses rolled into Jantar Mantar ferrying Jats of all ages to sit on protest there, each vehicle carried at least one hookah. Unaware that open burning of waste is banned in Delhi, the protesters burnt hundreds of cow-dung cakes to ignite these hookahs.
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In fact, the hookah was more visible than placards at the protest venue. There were some that were more than 3-ft tall. Nagesh Tewati, an agitator, had his name inscribed at the base of his tobacco pipe. "The hookah is part of our culture and we are extremely proud of it," said the farmer.
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As leader after leader gave fiery speeches threatening to block essential services in Delhi if the government did not reserve jobs for Jats, the onlookers applauded through a hazy of blue smoke.
"Over 700 people smoked from my hookah," exulted Pradeep Punia from Hisar, who had been entrusted with the task of gratifying the agitators' urge for a deep inhalation of tobacco smoke.
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Close to a wall under the trees, Om Prakash, general secretary of Kadyan Khap in Jhajjar, and Bhagwan Singh from a Rohtak village sat near a pyramid of cow-dung cakes, waiting for the organic parts to turn into fireballs to use in their hubble-bubble.
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Yogesh Kumar pontificated on the virtues of the hookah and told a reporter, "It has five deities in it: fire, water, air, Jats (believe they are a form of god) and the punch (arbitrators)."
AP/representational image
A few metres away, Sanjay Kumar Singh told everyone who cared to listen that the hookah does not kill like cigarettes do."People in our villages smoke their whole lives and die only after 80 years," he claimed. Non-Jats, however, were not too enthused.
Constable Poonam Singh complained of the constant sting of smoke. Her colleagues, Santosh Dixit and Anil Kumar, too were disdainful of the inhalers. Likewise, Sonu Gupta, a child papad vendor, grumbled about the acrid vapour but had no option other than to wade through the ranks of the smoking protesters.