MUMBAI: All religions advocate silence over noise. Every religion speaks of the beauty and peace of finding enlightenment, shanti, moksha, or heaven. Almost every religion exhorts its followers to seek inner silence and hear the inner voice of God in quietude and tranquillity. Ironically, loudspeakers that increase decibel levels to beyond safe or legal limits and cause serious adverse health impacts, are routinely used for prayers and celebrations of all religions in India. Many people claim that reciting of prayers and celebrations on loudspeakers is ‘traditional’, failing to remember that loudspeakers were invented in 1861, with the telephone! The public address system we are now familiar with followed at least three decades later. Loudspeakers were first used on the minaret of a masjid in 1936 in Singapore. In the millennia before, the azaan was called by unamplified human voice of muezzins. The public display of festivals as political expression began with Lokmanya Tilak’s means of protest during the Freedom Movement in 1894. Loudspeakers were added in the 1900s. However, with the march of technology, cellphones, radio and TV can convey messages far more effectively than loudspeakers in 2022. As urbanisation makes cities denser, use of newer technologies becomes even more important. In many countries, churches and other religious places convey their messages through dedicated TV channels or networks on mobile phones. In May 2021, Saudi Arabia restricted the use of loudspeakers for azaan because of their high decibel levels. Noise pollution in Mumbai is more than just a nuisance. Background noise levels in Mumbai from traffic and construction is already far beyond permissible limits and beyond the safe limits of the WHO. Recently, I measured noise up to 95.3dB from traffic and 97.2dB from construction. Each individual source of noise contributes incrementally to make noise levels in Indian cities unsafe. However, instead of working to bring background levels to within safe limits and abide by the letter and spirit of court orders, we are engaged in diverting the issue and making it communal and political. As Ramzan, Muslim clerics visited the police commissioner and volunteered to reduce noise from azaan. Politicians responded by threatening to play the Hanuman Chalisa on loudspeakers to drown out the azaan if loudspeakers were not removed completely. The Supreme Court ordered in August 2000 that “because of urbanization or industrialization the noise pollution in some area of a city/town might be exceeding permissible limits prescribed under the rules, but that would not be a ground for permitting others to increase the same by beating of drums or by use of voice amplifiers, loudspeakers or by such other musical instruments.” The Bombay HC Order and Judgement dated August 2016 (in which Awaaz Foundation and myself are petitioners) says “no religion or religious sect can claim that the use of loudspeakers or similar instruments for prayers or for worship or for celebrating religious festivals is an essential part of the religion which is protected under Article 25” It goes on to say that their order to restrict decibel levels to within legal limits “shall apply to places of worship of all the religions.” However, politicians across party lines are making statements which aggravate sentiments and permit various sources of noise to become louder than ever. The political game of one-upmanship has only increased noise pollution.(With inputs from Sumaira Abdulali)