According to a report in the Hindu, the Union Ministry for Human Resource Development has asked all 16 Indian Institutes of Technology in the country to "take action" on a request by an RSS member for separate dining halls for vegetarians.
The request, made by one S.K Jain of Madhya Pradesh, is based on the belief that the consumption on non-vegetarian food is a bad culture of the West.
The letter, which the Hindu says it has a copy of, claims that "children who have started practicing non vegetarianism have saddened their parents by their ‘tamsic’ behaviour. It is the call of the parents of India that IITs and other institutions segregate their dining halls for vegetarians."
Mr Jain, who has no connection to any IIT in any capacity whatsoever, told The Telegraph the UPA government had earlier rejected his appeal saying the IITs were not meant to promote religious ideologies.
But the Modi sarkar appears to be more receptive to this demand. In his cover letter to the IITs, HRD ministry A.K Singh said "Please take the trouble to inform the ministry about whatever actions you take,".
Speaking to the Telegraph, Mr Jain claimed "Non-vegetarian food is not part of Indian culture. It affects our value system and enhances aggression. The crime rate is increasing because of such tamasic food."
Tamasic food are the list of items that Hindus are not supposed to eat – including things like onions and garlic.
In his interview with the Hindu, Mr Jain said "We see many families which are all mixed up. There are Sindhi fathers and Punjabi mothers in the same family and their children get married to Muslims. It all starts when you mix up food. Wrong food spoils one's mind. That’s why I made this request as I am a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and a supporter of the BJP. I knew that this government would understand,"
While the idea to have separate dining halls for vegetarians is rational, and many IITs already provide this facility, it is strange that the Union Ministry would base its action request on Mr Jain's request, with its calls to end ‘anti-Indian’ behaviour.
The HRD Minister - Smriti Irani, is yet to comment on the letter.
The students of the IITs have not been consulted over this move. In any case, a large percentage of them invariably end up leaving the country for the West where vegetarian food of any kind, let alone separated from meats like beef and pork, is a rarity.
In a strange twist, though the Hindu broke the story, the banning of non-veg food in canteens based on religious beliefs is nothing new to the Hindu newspaper.
As per this notice from the Hindu's Human Resource Department, the bringing and eating of non-veg food is banned in the Hindu's canteen.
The request, made by one S.K Jain of Madhya Pradesh, is based on the belief that the consumption on non-vegetarian food is a bad culture of the West.
The letter, which the Hindu says it has a copy of, claims that "children who have started practicing non vegetarianism have saddened their parents by their ‘tamsic’ behaviour. It is the call of the parents of India that IITs and other institutions segregate their dining halls for vegetarians."
Mr Jain, who has no connection to any IIT in any capacity whatsoever, told The Telegraph the UPA government had earlier rejected his appeal saying the IITs were not meant to promote religious ideologies.
But the Modi sarkar appears to be more receptive to this demand. In his cover letter to the IITs, HRD ministry A.K Singh said "Please take the trouble to inform the ministry about whatever actions you take,".
Speaking to the Telegraph, Mr Jain claimed "Non-vegetarian food is not part of Indian culture. It affects our value system and enhances aggression. The crime rate is increasing because of such tamasic food."
Tamasic food are the list of items that Hindus are not supposed to eat – including things like onions and garlic.
In his interview with the Hindu, Mr Jain said "We see many families which are all mixed up. There are Sindhi fathers and Punjabi mothers in the same family and their children get married to Muslims. It all starts when you mix up food. Wrong food spoils one's mind. That’s why I made this request as I am a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and a supporter of the BJP. I knew that this government would understand,"
While the idea to have separate dining halls for vegetarians is rational, and many IITs already provide this facility, it is strange that the Union Ministry would base its action request on Mr Jain's request, with its calls to end ‘anti-Indian’ behaviour.
The HRD Minister - Smriti Irani, is yet to comment on the letter.
The students of the IITs have not been consulted over this move. In any case, a large percentage of them invariably end up leaving the country for the West where vegetarian food of any kind, let alone separated from meats like beef and pork, is a rarity.
In a strange twist, though the Hindu broke the story, the banning of non-veg food in canteens based on religious beliefs is nothing new to the Hindu newspaper.
As per this notice from the Hindu's Human Resource Department, the bringing and eating of non-veg food is banned in the Hindu's canteen.
No comments:
Post a Comment