Political Diary
New Delhi,
12 April 2022
A Meaty Affair
RELISHING RELIGION IN POLITICAL
DISH
By Poonam I Kaushish
Move over meat
eaters, Saffron storm-troopers are relishing the ban on sale of non-vegetarian
products during Ram Navmi as they have a majority st(e)ake in India. Thereby, deciding
our right to choose what should be eaten. Food fascism at its inane best by
garnishing religion in a political dish in the hope the revered festival would transform
into a Kamdhenu!
Clearly, buoyed by its landslide
victory in four out of five recent elections
specially UP, the Saffron
Sangh is reportedly on a
roll. Using one
issue after another to emphasise their Hindutva credentials and raise communal
temperatures. Beginning with love jihad, stopping inter-faith marriages, lynching Muslims for
transporting cattle, banning hijab in
favour of school uniform, sale of halal meat, disallowing
Muslims from opening shops at temple fairs, barring use of loudspeakers for Azaan
to meat ban.
Alas, religious intolerance
barred its poisonous blood-soaked fangs as rallies were taken out during the festivities
in Delhi,
Bengal,
Jharkhand, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh leaving three dead and several injured
resulting in State Governments imposing Section 144 and banning large
gatherings. In Delhi’s JNU ABVP clashed with left-wing student outfits over
chicken being cooked in one of the hostels.
Of course, no neta wanted to get his teeth into an
individual’s food preferences but it didn’t stop them from being holier-than-though.
The clamour for meat ban is mostly aimed at making political gains by
triggering religious sentiments. Perhaps the recent electoral
successes have emboldened the BJP and its various offshoots to upping their religious
ante or the
forthcoming elections in Gujarat, Himachal and Karnataka might have motivated
them.
It would help the Party play to the gallery and thereby reap poll dividends
Of the three, Gujarat and Karnataka are particularly important.
While the BJP feels Modi’s home State is a no brainer where it is confident of
romping back, the latter is iffy. Despite running the Government, the Party is
reportedly not so influential anymore having dispensed with its tallest leader
Yediyurappa and now functioning under a nondescript Chief Minister Bommai.
Not a few so called
‘secularists’ question the logic behind shutting down meat shops across States.
Those fasting or those who are vegetarian are free to do their own thing but
why are their food habits being foisted on all Indians and hurting meat vendors
business? Added another, in a democratic country no majority can force its
choices on people.
A ban on meat-shops does not serve any
larger public purpose other than catering to Hindu sentiments thereby forcing everyone
to adhere to their belief. Besides, Hinduism is pluralistic and festivities are
influenced by local cultures. During Navratri while people in the North abstain
from consuming meat and non-vegetarian products, Bengalis consume fish and
mutton and even offer them to Goddess Durga.
The Hindutva Brigade retorts all
Muslim-ruled countries have banned all pork products and people abide by it. Moreover,
no one in the Arab World has starved because of not eating pork. So what is wrong if a country where 80%
majority are Hindus lays some conditions during religious festivals, others
should respect their sentiments. “It is a short restriction for a few days and
surely non-vegetarians can remain vegetarian for this short period”.
Questionably, if loudspeakers at a
mosque during Azan is OK and cited as
being ‘secular. Why does a Hindu calling for a ban smack of communalism? How? What has secular-communal got to do with the
banning of sale of products so as not to hurt religious sentiments? How can we
stereotype food?
Also, meat traders will not suffer much nor
is it substantial injury merely because their business has been closed down for
9 days twice a year. “Muslims should learn to be tolerant”, asserted a BJP
leader. In recent times, meat has been politicised wherein the minority
community has been organizing ‘meat festivals’ including ‘beef festivals’ to hurt
our religious sentiments.
Pertinently, in June 2019, a beef
festival organised in Kolkata was cancelled after organisers complained of
receiving threats. A year earlier a group ‘Team Kerala Cyber Warriors’ hacked
the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha website and posted the traditional Kerala
beef curry recipe. This was in retaliation to Swami Chakrapani comments that
Kerala floods were a consequence of eating beef and disrespecting cows.
In May 2017, in Maharashtra Youth
Congress workers publicly slaughtered cows. In 2015 during Jain festival Paryushan
when the community abstains from consuming food and water a chicken was cooked outside
their temple in Mumbai.
Legally speaking,
though Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution states all citizens shall have the
right to practise any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or
business,
this right is subject to Article 19(6) that states the State can impose
reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right through a law in the
interests of the general public.
Bluntly, sentiments of a section of the population.
True the Constitution
does not explicitly provide for the Fundamental Right to Food. But the same is
read under Article 21. In 1958, the Supreme Court upheld the ban on cow
slaughtering, but also considered the nutritional needs, and partially allowed
slaughter of bovines noting that for a large section of poor consuming beef and
buffalo flesh was a matter of “necessity”. However, later it overruled the
earlier judgment saying that since only a small number of Indians ate beef it
could be banned.
But in 2017 the
Apex Court recognized the Right to Food as part of one's Fundamental Right to Privacy
under Article 21. It protects an individual from the scrutiny of the State in
their home, of their movements and over their reproductive choices, choice of
partners, food habits etc.
Politically,
Opposition leaders feels the Sangh is
using the meat ban as a panacea to consolidate the majority community against minorities.
They accuse saffron-robed Ministers, netas
and swamis of recklessly playing
the communal card. Politicising Hinduism to tailor to their ambitious needs and
electoral gains where one man’s opium is another man’s poison.
On the obverse
the BJP blames Opposition netas of
making the Muslim vote bank the tour de
force of Indian politics. It’s all about pyare Mussalman mujhe vote do! Thus, we have a wacky hodgepodge of forbidden
food according to leaders’ political appetite. Worse, our netas seem to suffer no sense of guilt or qualms of conscience. Accentuating
a cynical food-fight sells and how!
Importantly, our leaders need to
understand that by upping the religion ante and playing Hindus and Muslims
against each other they are only serving their vested interests. Communalism
thrives on one community’s hate for the other along-with playing up the
psychosis of retaliation.
In
the final analysis, any ban legislation should neither be made a political
issue or religious plank for power. In a democracy be it the majority or
minority community both have to live together. They should respect each other
religions and sentiments. Our leaders too should refrain from playing the creed
card to further their political agenda. It is about tolerating differences and
not beating it to a pulp with a meaty bone. What gives? ----- INFA
(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)
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