India, Jan. 23 -- India saw an interview. Then India lost its breath.Not because of pollution-habit has made us immune-but because Gita Gopinath dared to say it out loud.

Cue outrage.

The charge sheet was familiar: anti-India, bad-mouthing the nation, washing dirty linen abroad. Apparently, pollution is patriotic only when it stays silent.

Let's get the boring question out of the way before the shouting resumes: what exactly did she say that was false?That pollution kills Indians?That investors think twice before sending people-and money-into cities that resemble gas chambers?That environmental collapse is an economic problem, not a poetry slam by activists?

If stating facts is treason, then India's real enemy is data.

Here's the iro...