IIT-Bombay has reserved six tables for 'vegetarian food' in the common canteen amid debates about food segregation and casteism on campus.
A couple of months ago, a video clip of entrepreneur Sudha Murthy declaring herself a 바카라pure vegetarian바카라 and sharing her anxieties about sharing spoons with non-vegetarians when travelling abroad, went viral. Appearing in an episode of Khaane Mein Kaun Hai? in July, Murthy said that she carries her own food and spoon from India. 바카라I바카라m pure vegetarian, what if the same spoon is used for non-veg?바카라
The comments led to outrage about 바카라Brahmanical바카라 food segregation practices that have historically been used by upper caste communities to discriminate against oppressed sections of the population. At around the same time, another incident of food segregationism led to protests in the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay, where posters declaring 바카라vegetarians only allowed to sit here바카라 sprang up in a section of the canteen.
Nearly two months after the controversy, the institution바카라s administration has now officially restricted some areas in the mess to 바카라vegetarians only바카라. According to new rules issued by IIT-B바카라s mess council, six tables at a common canteen for hostels 12,13, and 14 will now be received for vegetarians. Among the reasons cited for the segregation by the administration include feelings of sickness felt by non-meat eaters who feel 바카라nausea바카라 and may have to endure 바카라vomiting바카라 at just the sight and smell of non-vegetarian food.
In an email, the council informed students that the segregation was in the spirit of inclusivity. 바카라There is no doubt that there are some people who can바카라t resist the view and smell of non-vegetarian food during their dining, this may create health issues as well,바카라 the email said, while adding that separate eating spaces would help create an 바카라inclusive environment바카라. The common canteen consists of 80-100 tables, with each accommodating a maximum of 8 students. Of these, six will not be reserved for vegetarian food.
The Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle student body in IIT-B which had been protesting against the notice at the time stated that the administration had called the posters 바카라unauthorised바카라 when they were first reported by students following protests by some students.
바카라After weeks of an ambiguous and awkward back and forth on the food segregation policy, the admin has finally revealed where they stand. We condemn this regressive policy,바카라 the student body said in a post on Twitter.
Food politics
Vegetarianism has been gaining currency under the current BJP-led government as it falls in line with certain Hindutva narratives that see vegetarianism as a prerequisite for being Hindu. In a recent official dinner organised for international heads of state during the G-20 session in Delhi, the government of India served guests strictly vegetarian fare. The purely vegetarian and 바카라simple바카라 diet of India바카라s first tribal woman President Droupadi Murmu has been a well-documented TV news story. Meanwhile, several persons in the past few years have been lynched or attacked on suspicion of eating or storing meat, starting with Mohammad Aqlaq in 2015 who was killed by cow vigilantes in Uttar Pradesh바카라s Dadri.
The issue of vegetarian/meat segregation is not new in India and has widespread religious as well as political connotations. Food is deeply personal but also deeply cultural. In India, it is a marker of class, caste, religion, and even region. Outlook바카라s 2022 issue on food politics titled 바카라Our Food Their Food바카라 looked at the contradictions that make food both an agent of polarization as well as integration.
An edible item like salt can in the hands of a leader like Mahatma Gandhi, become the symbol of a nation uniting against a common oppressor. Rumours of pork fat being used to grease cartridges can unite both Hindu and Muslim soldiers to mutiny against colonisers. Today, Champaran mutton has also become a political symbol, endorsed by INDIA Alliance partners, Congress and RJD leaders, Rahul Gandhi and Lalu Prasad Yadav.
Its unifying potential also makes it an effective tool of oppression and hegemonic control. The history of Dalit and Adivasi culinary practices and habits reveals a tale of historic discrimination.
Food cultures in India reiterate 바카라social hierarchies and caste logics of cleanliness and purity,바카라 writes academic Dolly Kikon in her paper 바카라Dirty food: racism and casteism in India바카라. Dalit and tribal writers have in recent years reclaimed the food segregation against them bringing their own recipes - often shaped by historical hardships and limited choices - into pedagogical discourse about food. There has been a growing body of work by Dalit and tribal authors on how food has shaped their caste identity.
The new laws at IIT-B may not be surprising when seen in context with the changing nature of Mumbai where culinary cosmopolitanism is slowly giving way to food apartheid. Across neighbourhoods, Outlook reported how residents militantly police consumption of meat in their housing societies. And the hate is fast spreading across Maharashtra.
Incidentally, the new rules come amid protests across IITs following deaths by suicide of SC/ST students on campus with bodies like AAPSC claiming caste discrimination as one of the reasons. In a survey conducted by APPSC (IIT-B) in 2022, over 41 per cent of general students voted for segregation of eating spaces and 56.4 per cent stated they were vegetarian. Meanwhile, over 60 per cent of the Reserved Category respondents were non-vegetarian and 74.6 per cent did not want segregation.