How are they manipulating food habits for political gains
In current times when we are witnessing many mechanisms of political propaganda affecting social thinking, food habits are also one of the components of the divisive political tendencies
[West Bengal CM, Suvendu Adhikari, who received Shastri with great warmth, attended a ceremony in Durga temple and consumed the Fish Prasad. (Video screenshot. Quality enhanced by Grok AI.]
In current times when we are witnessing many mechanisms of political propaganda affecting social thinking, food habits are also one of the components of the divisive political tendencies.
It is in the air that "Muslims are more violent in their tendencies as they consume non vegetarian food".
The angle of "Holy Cow" and beef eating is also introduced, and we witnessed the phenomenon of lynching being introduced in India in which primarily Muslims and also Dalits are the major victims.
The segregation of people in the housing societies based on food habits is also prevalent, as the housing societies check the food habits before permitting the sale of flats. This got highlighted in a more complex way recently in West Bengal. It also showed with what speed and limitations the advice of preventing the non-vegetarian food near the Pooja Pandals should be given.
Also, a section of the society has been propagating that the sale of non-vegetarian food be banned during the Jain Festival of Paryushan. The advice of Dhirendra Krishna Shastri (Parchiwale baba, whom Prime Minister Modi calls his younger brother) on this regard, was received with mixed reactions as such.
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Currently, West Bengal where the BJP came to power recently is celebrating Durga Puja, its biggest festival. Already, the rise of the BJP’s political assertion in WB has been accompanied by promotion of Hindu Lord Ram. For the BJP and its followers, promoting festivals around the Hindu Lord Ram is on the rise. This is a move which had yielded rich electoral dividends for it in North India, affecting the electoral scenario in India as a whole.
As the BJP government settled in WB, the time for the Durga Puja came. And the party in power invited Shastri of Bageshwar Dham. He had come for Hanuman Katha in Howrah’s Liluah. He advised the people to keep non-vegetarian food away from Durga idols during the Puja.
A similar advice was already proffered by RSS affiliate VHP. This in a way has triggered a storm among Bengali Hindus, including those calling themselves "Hindu nationalists". There were statements and protests from prominent Bengalis that Shastri should not teach them how to celebrate Durga Puja and what to eat and what not.
The reaction was due to the fact that fish in particular and goats during Durga festival are mandatory items. Many of them underlined that fish is very crucial to Bengali culture and the broad umbrella of Hindu religion has many tendencies where non-vegetarian food is part of the ritual.
People from a diverse section, including former Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy, many journalists and content creators, along with those who described themselves as "Bengali Hindu nationalists", retaliated. "Don't tell a Bengali how to celebrate Durga Puja", Kolkata-based content creator Shreyasi Biswas Banerjee wrote on Facebook. In the video attached, Biswas underlined that an "outsider" was prescribing rules for a festival embedded in Bengal's distinct religious and culinary traditions. Few people also attacked the poster of Shastri.
Suvendu Adhikari who received Shastri with great warmth attended a ceremony in Durga temple and consumed the Fish Prasad. Many of them stated the core value of fish in Bengali culture. India is a country full of diversities in all matters, food, clothing, language and religion. Hindus also have many sects and many diverse food habits. We have Kashmiri Pandits for whom Mutton dishes as an inalienable part of their culture. The food habits are decided by multiple factors, geographical location being an important part of that. In Coastal areas, sea food is an important part of their diet.
In the recently held BRICS meeting, in the Gala dinner, only vegetarian food was served. Indecently, Xi Jing Ping skipped this dinner, whatever be his reasons. While keeping only vegetarian food for international guests was criticised by the opposition parties, Kiran Rijiju defended it by saying that the guests appreciated the menu. This also showed the thinking of the Government as if India is only having vegetarian cuisine. The UP Government CM Yogi Adityanath recently published a map of important food items of all districts of Uttar Pradesh. In this Lucknow’s Tunde kabab was missing and only vegetarian items were presented, as if UP consumes only the vegetarian food.
In yet another incident, 14 Muslims were put behind the bars for having Chicken Biryani in their Iftar party while having a boat ride in Ganga River. Interestingly, some Hindus who consumed liquor during their boat ride were not touched at all. So many factors in the policies of the BJP Governments.
Also Read: India’s Non-Veg Food is Delicious: Rahul Reminds Modi Govt over BRICS Menu
Despite knowing the fact that nearly 70% of Indians are non-vegetarians, vegetarianism is being promoted by the BJP governments, and at some places successfully. In Gujarat where the BJP is in power from the last 3 decades, by and large non vegetarian joints have been more or less invisibilized. Many people go to the restarants near Gujarat border and satisfy their craving for non-vegetarian food.
It is a dilemma for the BJP to keep balancing between Indian’s prevalent food habits and their agenda of imposing vegetarianism. At every possible chance, they and their cohorts try to push forward vegetarianism. Somehow the BJP associates Non-Vegetarianism with Muslims in particular and this bypassing of non-vegetarian food, an essential part of Indian food habits, irrespective of religion of the people is facing this dilemma. They get away with this aggressive vegetarianism at places like in Gujarat, while in WB, they are facing such an opposition. Shastri, the likes of whom have mushroomed heavily during the last couple of decades, are a supplement to the RSS-BJP politics. Attempt of Shastri was in this direction and his effort has been like sowing the seeds of particular food habits.
Human society has evolved through various stages and food habits have been very diverse. The aim of the RSS-BJP and their pollical-cultural supporters remains to glorify vegetarianism purely for ideological reasons. There may be other reasons for promoting Veganism or vegetarianism, but respect for people’s food habits is the starting point for a democratic society. So, this baba is facing a flak for advocating banning of non-vegetarianism. May be the BJP may continue in some other ways to persist with their vegetarianism which supplements their ‘Hate Muslim’ agenda!
[The writer, Ram Puniyani, is former Professor IIT Bombay.]
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