Tariq Thachil delivered a lecture on ‘Why Does Air Pollution Not Matter During Elections? Evidence from Delhi’. It was chaired by Sanjay Kumar.
ZOOM ID: 83265703607 PASSCODE: csdsdelhi
Despite its severity, air pollution in India has not proved to be salient during state or national elections. To understand this puzzling public apathy, we fielded a large citizen survey of over 3000 residents living in the highly polluted megacity of Delhi. We find no evidence of conventional explanations: residents are aware of pollution's adverse impacts, do not uniformly privilege development over curbing emissions, and are not fractured along class lines. We do find support for less commonly anticipated explanations for pollution’s low political salience, and reveal key opportunities and constraints for mobilizing public opinion on this critical issue.
Tariq Thachil is Professor of Political Science, Madan Lal Sobti Professor for the Study of Contemporary India and Director, Center for Advanced Study of India University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on political parties and political behavior, identity politics, urbanization and migration, with a regional focus on India.
Sanjay Kumar is Professor at Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi.
Tuesday, 11 March 2025, 3 pm, Seminar Room and Zoom https://bit.ly/4igGhaU
