It started with the lynching of persons suspected of cattle-lifting, possibly for cow slaughter and those transporting or storing prohibited meat at home. Vigilantes had no time or patience for the law to take its own course. They took upon themselves the roles of police, jury, judge and executioner. Unfortunately, these horrendous incidents were treated as random aberrations. The miscreants went unpunished, encouraging others to indulge in this bloody sport under the garb of saving religion and nation. ,Gau rakshak‘ suddenly emerged from the closet and replaced the traditional ‘gau sevak, It started with the lynching of persons suspected of cattle-lifting, possibly for cow slaughter and those transporting or storing prohibited meat at home. Vigilantes had no time or patience for the law to take its own course. They took upon themselves the roles of police, jury, judge and executioner. Unfortunately, these horrendous incidents were treated as random aberrations. The miscreants went unpunished, encouraging others to indulge in this bloody sport under the garb of saving religion and nation. ,Gau rakshak‘ suddenly emerged from the closet and replaced the traditional ‘gau sevak,
Then, hordes of militant vegetarians descended on us, imposing patently illegal bans on all kinds of meat on days considered sacred by the Hindu majority or a minority like the Jains. No meat-selling during the pitru paksha, Navaratri, days associated with Hindu gods and goddesses. The list of days when meat-eaters should be denied flesh, fowl and fish is increasing. The governments—at the Center and state capitals—failed to curb this menace. It is reasonable to conclude that politicians of a certain hue were busy evaluating how this, too, like beef, could be exploited to polarise voters. There is a shrill demand to ban the stuff totally in places of pilgrimage or on the roadside. One doesn’t know where the intolerance will end. ‘One Nation, One Language, One Election and One Satvik Vegetarian Diet’ may work in an ideal fantasy world. But we live in a land that is inheritor to a pluralistic tradition and hasn’t only tolerated diversity but also celebrated it.
The fact is a majority of Indians are not vegetarian. even Brahmins eat meat in many parts of India.
Vigilantes enjoying political patronage have created a climate of fear, terrifying shopkeepers from the minority community. Many down shutters ‘voluntarily’ to avoid getting bashed up at the hands of marauding bands of hooligans who claim to be guardians of values cherished by the majority and specialize in making a preventive strike to deter anyone from ‘hurting Hindu sentiments’.
What is dangerously overlooked is that sentiments can’t be privileged over fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution. True, no right is absolute and can be restricted in public interest, but this can only be done reasonably, following due process. What we are witnessing is condoning by the government of gross violation of the rule of law. The meat wars infringe on citizens’ right to life and livelihood. Schoolkids are denied eggs because some ignoramus believes they are alien to our ‘swadeshi’ tradition. An explosive debate is triggered on halal versus jhatka, adding fuel to fire just when the flames appear to be dying down.
Ignorance is not bliss. Statistics collected by different surveys, including government ones, show that a majority of Indians are NOT vegetarian. Hindus worshiping goddess Kali have traditionally offered animal sacrifice to the deity, and treat meat as prasad—blessed food. Not all Brahmins are vegetarians either—in Kashmir, Bengal, Assam, Odisha and the Mithila region in Bihar, meat or fish has always been a part of the diet. Tribal populations as well as a majority of Dalits consume meat, including the one that dares not speak its name. A vast number of middle castes are non-vegetarian. On the eastern and western seaboard, fish is staple. In the ‘seven sisters’ of Northeast India and in all of south India and Goa, the list of enthusiastic meat-eaters is a long one.
What then explains the virus of vegetarian violence? It has nothing to do with matters culinary. It is based on sheer opportunism and shrewd calculation that waving this flag will endear them to those in power. A local rowdy can enjoy police protection due to partisan political patronage. These musclemen can be extremely useful during elections. The lines between legitimate fundraising and blackmailing had blurred long ago. However, the politics of food at the grassroots has contributed significantly to divisive politics at its worst.
It is easy to dismiss and condemn ‘left-liberals’ as willing or unwilling members of an international conspiracy to interrupt, obstruct and retard India’s economic development and resurgence. It’s equally easy to brand anyone who raises a dissenting voice about rampaging gau rakshaks or vegetarian vigilantes a traitor or enemy of the Hindu religion. So scared are we that we mumble most of the time about majority and minority communities. Identifying lawbreakers and miscreants as Hindus and Muslims, we are told, can only aggravate the situation. But nothing stops senior ministers from raising provocative slogans in the midst of communal riots: “Desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maro saalon ko, Hate speech is now inextricably entwined with the politics of food. Those who eat only halal and wear a skull cap are vidharmis, enemies of Hindus and are descendants of foreign invaders. Distorting well-settled facts of history and demonising Muslims (whose parents chose not to migrate to Pakistan during Partition) are par for the course. That ominous taunt—’go to Pakistan’—hangs constantly in the air. A youngster applauding the performance of a Pakistani cricket player does so at the risk of life or limb. Be warned! What is prohibited isn’t only specified meat—the prescriptions are no less stifling in the realm of costume and language.
Self-styled godmen—many wielding tridents and swords—dressed in shades of ochre, have arrogated the responsibility to interpret Hinduism arbitrarily. This pressure group has organized itself in a parallel parliament, or dharam sansad, that flexes its muscles to browbeat elected representatives in the real Parliament. Those who have to ‘fight’ elections can’t afford to neglect these gatekeepers of vote banks. Divisive wounds can only heal if those who hold public office realise that the unity of the nation is inseparable from its resplendent diversity. Calamity can perhaps yet be averted if individuals respect the separation of powers and majesty of institutions that have served us well in the past.
Alas, the judiciary has let citizens down on more than one occasion. The glimmer of hope that we can yet stop the slide to the abyss is fast fading.
Pushpesh Pant is a teacher, anchor and author of India: The Cookbook, The Indian Vegetarian Cookbook and Gourmet Journeys in India. Views are personal
,