Avantika Sunderlal- Week 9

Summary- Food

Rohith Vemula a PHD student of the University of Hyderabad held a beef eating festival on the Death Anniversary of B.R Ambedkar and Babri Masjid Demolition day, this was to serve as blow to Hindutva Politics in three ways, firstly it was a celebration of a great anti-caste icon, secondly to assert the rights of Dalits, Adivasis and Muslims to freely eat meat and thirdly a demonstration against Hindu Rights most iconic act of political violence.  This piece discusses the link between Beef and untouchability, it brings to the table the “Beef” between Hindus and Muslims and the “beef” between Hindus belonging to a high caste and those belonging to a low caste. It makes the readers aware about the beef politics from the times of the Atharvaveda, to the gandhian era and helps us understand the lynching’s that take place today due to mere transportation of the “holy cow”.

The Marwari community funded the gau-rakshak movement and Gandhiji too was funded by rich Marwari businessmen. This resulted in the same Gandhi that stated that “harijans” should take pride in what they do, that is lift carcasses, should voluntarily give up eating beef. Untouchability is not an option it is societal coercion on very level, how can one choose what to eat if one is shunned by society for being “un-clean” when society itself coerces them to do the un-clean work. Dalits eat beef because they pick up the carcasses of these animals and do not have the economic means to do afford otherwise. Moreover, people from High castes eat beef too, it is just found that in recent times it is a more hidden phenomena if the Atharvaveda prescribes Oxen’s to Lord Indra, how can it be “un-clean”. As Periyar explains, that even if one were to stop eating Beef it does not mean that a Dalit will stop being a Dalit, he/she will be considered “un-clean”, however this brings us to the other spectrum of the argument that is will eating Beef really make a difference then? The idea behind these beef festivals and asserting the fact that Dalits, Muslims, Adivasis and whoever wants to eat beef should be permitted to eat beef as they are Human too, and the food they eat is equally food.

Lastly, I would like to compare the right-wing Hindutva politics to a Chauvinist husband who likes to control everything. Both use food as a tool of oppression, one does it to win vote banks and has mastered manipulating the masses whereas the latter does it cause they have to assert their power and dominance and simply because they are the breadwinners in most Indian households. Like the ruling party, which dictates what one must eat. Husbands too dictate what their wife and children should, most women along with giving up their surname and identity tend to eat and cook as per their husband’s fancies, moreover children too are made to adhere to strict vegetarian diets. The husband may gamble and drink which isn’t permitted by religious texts, but the wife or child isn’t permitted to cook a medium rare.