Food fascism in full public view: “Meat eating is a sin, it is destroying humanity, and is a path to destruction”

Kandivali

Paramsant Baba Jaygurudev Maharaj

Sushil Singh

Pakistan is a failed state, on path to destruction, because people there eat meat. One of the participants in the rally

IIT-B’s U-turn on ‘meat ban’ in café

The group members said they had conducted such “shakahari prachar rallies” in the Western suburbs earlier as well, during which cries of “non-veg khaane waalon sharam karo sharam karo” were raised, and over the next few weekends, they aim to cover most parts of the city.As the procession – which had the permission from the police -- winded through the streets, several shopkeepers and vendors were seen hurriedly removing crates of eggs, while women selling fish on the footpaths retreated to adjoining lanes. None of the residents and shopkeepers this newspaper spoke to wanted to confront the group, with one saying it was “very easy to get beaten up in today’s times”., one of the procession leaders, told this newspaper that the group had tens of thousands of members in Maharashtra alone, and its aim was to “counsel people into giving up meat and alcohol”.When told that the Constitution of India gives every individual the freedom to live the way he/she wants to, Singh said, “God had willed that anyone who harms other living beings will be condemned to destruction. It is the universal truth. Even the West is embracing vegetarianism.” Singh claimed the group had no political affiliations.We asked Singh whether it was right to shame people because of their food habits, and he said: “We are conducting our rallies in the most peaceful manner. Our only aim is to convince people to stay away from slaughtering animals and substance abuse...”After an uproar over its purported ban on non-vegetarian food at the Civil Engineering Department café, the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, last week did a volte face and claimed there was no restriction on the sale of meatbased food items at Civil Café. Last month, an email had also been sent from the mess team to students of Hostel No. 11 at IIT-B, asking them to use separate plates for non-vegetarian food — in view of complaints from ‘some students’.