Meat ban disregards majority food culture
Palitana, in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar district, has earned a controversial reputation as the first city in the world to outlaw the selling or consumption of non-vegetarian food. This drastic measure was implemented at the behest of the Jain community, as Palitana is a prominent Jain pilgrimage site, located near the Shatrunjaya Hills. The city is home to more than 800 temples, with the Adinath temple being the most significant. A few years ago, about 200 Jain monks staged a hunger strike to demand the closure of the 250-odd meat shops in the city, leading to the current ban. Similar trends are emerging in other towns of Gujarat like Vadodara, Junagadh, and Ahmedabad.
This trend is not isolated to Gujarat. In north India, cities and towns like Kurukshetra in Haryana, Haridwar in Uttarakhand, and several towns in Uttar Pradesh have increasingly restricted non-vegetarian restaurants and open sale of meat, fish, and eggs. These bans disproportionately impact the Muslim community, which supplies meat and poultry, and the majority population, which consumes non-vegetarian food. It is worth noting that Jains abstain from onions, potatoes, and all root vegetables, while Muslims do not eat pork. Dietary habits often reflect the region of birth; for example, Maithil Brahmins of Bihar are avid consumers of non-vegetarian food, Bengalis consider fish essential to their diet, and some communities in the Northeast regard black dog meat as a delicacy. In China, it is said that they eat almost anything that moves. Food is inherently a personal choice, and imposing one's dietary preferences on others is fundamentally unfair. Everyone should have the freedom to choose their food. While the state can regulate the sale of non-vegetarian items, it should consider establishing exclusive markets for beef, poultry, and other items, situated away from temples, schools, and sensitive areas, rather than imposing blanket bans. Such political high-handedness disregards the dietary practices of a vast majority of people, including Muslims, Christians, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and OBCs, who, generally speaking, consume non-vegetarian food. Many upper-caste communities like Bhumihars and Rajputs include non-vegetarian items in their daily diet.
In Palitana, thousands of people who relied on selling non-vegetarian food for their livelihood have been adversely affected. The same can be said of other towns where restrictions exist on such sales. This does not bode well for the country's image. A more balanced approach that respects both vegetarian and non-vegetarian preferences, while accommodating the livelihood of all communities, is essential. Blanket bans on non-vegetarian food are not only impractical but also a step backward in fostering inclusivity and respecting personal freedoms.