The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation banned stalls from selling non-vegetarian food within 100 metres of schools, colleges and educational institutes. Following the suit, municipal bodies of three other cities in Gujarat have put similar restrictions.
This has become a common state of affairs in India, selling itself as a vegetarian country. The disappearance of eggs from mid-day meals and the vilification of meat has become a familiar narrative in India.
Meanwhile, this conversation has been around the slaughter of cows and beef-eating; lately, the government is consciously banning meat from festivals and bringing other policies which attack the fundamental rights of the food we consume.
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The reality is far from the image the government wants to build. More than 70 per cent of India is non-vegetarian, and Gujarat, where this ban is going to be implemented, has 40 per cent no-vegetarians. The policy implemented without any scientific study or facts to back it up can only be seen as one at the whim of a leader’s perspective.
On the other hand, a Gurudwara has opened its space for Muslime to offer Namaz (prayers). While this is seen as a move establishing brotherhood between various religions, it should not keep you in the darkness that Muslims who have been offering Namaz in that area was stopped, and the state didn’t grant permissions for specific spots.
Kapil Mishra, the icon for spewing hatred, lapped up to this opportunity and asserted the narrative with a ‘Govardhan Puja‘ on the site of Namaz.
The people residing in Delhi have been breathing toxic air since Diwali. Mishra gave it a communal colour, ranted about the bursting of crackers while attending the puja by Sanyukt Hindu Sangharsh Samiti. He said, “Yesterday on Diwali, a lot of orders and edicts had been imposed on Hindus all over the country. And what was the result? Jitna dabaoge, jitna atyachar karoge… we are peace abiding people. But agar daboage toh wahi hoga jo pure desh mein hua hai. If we are pushed to the wall, then a push has to be given in response (Phir ek dhakka toh maarna hi padta hai).”
He further went on, “Do not use roads for your politics. We had seen it in Shaheen Bagh. They had done a tamasha by blocking all the roads. Has the CAA been revoked? Arteries and nerves, if blocked, stop the body’s movements. Similarly, if roads are blocked, the city and country stop.”
The Gurudwara opening its gate for Muslims to offer Namaz is the fading India and has merely reduced to a ray of hope. We shouldn’t be ignoring the more significant shift in narratives happening in the background.
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