Gurugram children write open letters to PM Modi, advocate clean air

As toxic air continues to choke the NCR, a group of schoolchildren from Gurugram have taken pen to paper, writing open letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking for urgent action to ensure their right to clean air.

The initiative is being facilitated by Kapil Anand and his wife Reeta Anand, a Gurugram-based couple in corporate jobs. The couple plans to send 100 handwritten postcards every week to Prime Minister Modi and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. Each letter is written by a schoolchild and reflects how air pollution is affecting their daily lives.

Spread across tables, the postcards - photographed before being posted - show short sentences scribbled with pencil, yet the messages are powerful and apt.

In one letter, Khushboo, a Class VIII student, writes, “We fall sick due to polluted air. I feel trouble in breathing. Free us from this polluted air”.

Another child, Kriti, who is in Class II, writes, “Namaste Modi Ji, I request you that we want clean air to breathe and we want to see blue sky.” “If we have the right to live, we also have the right to breathe,” she writes.

“I heard kids talking about how pollution might also be impacting trees and animals. When kids start worrying about animals and trees, you realise how deep the crisis is,” Kapil said.

“I saw so many people buying air purifiers. But most people, especially poor families and children, don’t have access to them. That made me feel terrible,” Kapil said.

The issue became deeply personal for the couple after the birth of their 18-month-old toddler. “We spoke to several doctors, and everyone said children are most vulnerable,” Kapil said. “Yet people aren’t talking about it enough.”

Along with letter writing, Kapil visits schools to talk to children about Article 21 of the Constitution which gives the right to life, and how clean air is part of it. “Clean air is not a privilege. It’s a constitutional right,” Kapil said.

He also raised concerns about transparency. “The government is underreporting AQI numbers. I can feel the air is much severe than what these AQI numbers tell. We want accountability and action, not silence,” he added.

Muskaan from Class V complains about irritation in eyes. She writes, “We are not getting clean air. Due to poor air, my eyes have irritation, and I am coughing, too. I am unable to go to school.”

Nancy from Class VII is worried about birds due to rising pollution. She writes, “I want to breathe in fresh air…birds die due to bad air…please get the air cleaned.”

One kid writes to Rahul Gandhi, “We fall ill due to this pollution. Please get it cleaned.”