Face 5-year jail, stiff fine if you eat or possess beef

HYDERABAD: Voices of outrage boomed out across varsities in Hyderabad on Wednesday against the ban on eating of beef in Maharashtra as hundreds of students flocked to restaurants to gorge on their favourite ‘beef biryani’ and also distributed dozens of food packets on university grounds.Dubbing the protest as ‘Let’s eat Kalyani biryani,’ a variety of beef biryani made famous by the Kalyani nawabs of Bidar who came to Hyderabad in the 18th century, dozens of students distributed biryani and ‘chilli beef’ on the University of Hyderabad (UoH) campus on Wednesday.Organized by the Ambedkar Students Association (ASA) of UoH, about 200 students shouted slogans decrying the ban in Maharashtra and took part in a ‘beef festival’, saying their move was to express solidarity with people of Mumbai and uphold a food culture, which is “being trampled upon by fascist forces” in the country.“In a democracy, food habits of all should be respected. Banning beef is a form of discrimination against the already marginalized communities,” said D Prashant, president of ASA.While over 200 students procured biryani packets and distributed it at a shopping complex in UoH, hundreds of students of the Osmania University (OU) and the English and Foreign Languages University (Eflu) also took part in the ‘beef festival’ at UoH where a documentary, ‘Caste on the Menu,’ was screened.Angry students said eating beef was part of the food culture of Dalits and Muslims in the country, and any move to ban it will be resisted vehemently.In Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, cow slaughter is prohibited, but slaughter of buffalo and ox is allowed if the bovine is more than 14 year-old and not fit for breeding, agricultural operations or able to produce milk.Protesters said the ban on beef would affect a large majority of people whose livelihood is associated with the tanning and cheap meat trade industry. “There are communities whose livelihood is associated with meat and leather. This ban robs them of their livelihood and we will oppose it tooth and nail,” said Muhammed Ashraf, vice-president, ASA.In the past, beef festivals were held on various campuses in the city as part of a larger agenda of asserting identities of certain communities for whom beef is a staple diet.In 2011, students of Eflu had conducted a similar festival which was opposed by Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad. “Student leaders of ABVP had unleashed violence during that festival. They desecrated our food by urinating on it,” alleged B Sudarshan, a research scholar at OU.In 2012, students of OU too conducted a similar festival.“While we live in a secular country, in most hostels, vegetarian food is imposed on students of the varsity. We want all non-vegetarian dishes, including beef on the menu,” Sudarshan added.