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rug

(82,333 posts)
Sun Apr 15, 2012, 08:46 PM Apr 2012

Religious row: Students clash in Osmania University over 'beef fest'

Source: PTI | Last Updated 00:01(16/04/12)

Hyderabad: A clash took place between two groups of students in Osmania University in Hyderabad over an event tonight, police said. A group of students wanted to organise a 'Beef festival' in the university campus tonight, while another group opposed the event, they said.

"The festival was intended to make the point that upper caste diktats over food habits needed to be resisted, however another group of students opposed the idea on the ground that it is against Indian culture," a police official said.

As the rival group of students reached the spot to express their protest, a clash followed and the students indulged in stone-pelting and some vehicles were set on fire in the incident, police said.

Police lobbed teargas shells to disperse the students and bring the situation under control.

http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/NAT-TOP-religious-row-students-clash-in-osmania-university-over-beef-fest-3116562.html

That's the entire article. I'd like to know more about these upper caste diktats.

17 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Religious row: Students clash in Osmania University over 'beef fest' (Original Post) rug Apr 2012 OP
Basically, the upper castes are having trouble letting go of their privileges. NutmegYankee Apr 2012 #1
Thanks for the info and the tip. rug Apr 2012 #2
notice how religionists use THEIR religion to debase the behavior of others.... msongs Apr 2012 #3
I wouldn't go that far unless I was sure of my facts. rug Apr 2012 #4
Here's an AFP article, which explains more for those of us coming at it for the first time muriel_volestrangler Apr 2012 #5
Good info. Thanks. rug Apr 2012 #9
All I said was, "Don't have a cow, man!"... Silent3 Apr 2012 #6
Ha!! Dorian Gray Apr 2012 #11
Eating beef is, I believe, prohibited by Hindu theology LeftishBrit Apr 2012 #7
The link in #5 put it as "on menus at student hostel accommodation" muriel_volestrangler Apr 2012 #8
Not really - the UK lacks a huge indigenous horse or dog eating population dmallind Apr 2012 #12
No, I don't think that works at all as an analogy muriel_volestrangler Apr 2012 #14
I think it's closer than your suggestion. There is no real parallel though dmallind Apr 2012 #15
Remember that many (most?) Indian restaurants in the UK are run by Muslims muriel_volestrangler Apr 2012 #16
Interesting that when referring to an odd order about food they use dimbear Apr 2012 #10
Nah - Indian media/public language is more rich and precise than either British or American usage dmallind Apr 2012 #13
This is a cultural, not a religious issue Vehl Apr 2012 #17

NutmegYankee

(16,199 posts)
1. Basically, the upper castes are having trouble letting go of their privileges.
Sun Apr 15, 2012, 08:55 PM
Apr 2012

They will decree that their caste won't do services for lower castes, and similar actions. Google "caste system" and you will get an eyeful. It's as barbaric as the action of white farmers in the US to keep the newly freed slaves "in their place" through laws.

msongs

(67,406 posts)
3. notice how religionists use THEIR religion to debase the behavior of others....
Sun Apr 15, 2012, 09:23 PM
Apr 2012

"...it is against Indian culture..." - not against "Indian culture" only the belief systems of SOME Indians, yet nobody should be allowed to do it because some don't

 

rug

(82,333 posts)
4. I wouldn't go that far unless I was sure of my facts.
Sun Apr 15, 2012, 09:30 PM
Apr 2012

I wouldn't intimate this is an example of "Hindu privilege" until I had information to support that claim.

muriel_volestrangler

(101,318 posts)
5. Here's an AFP article, which explains more for those of us coming at it for the first time
Mon Apr 16, 2012, 07:14 AM
Apr 2012
In the traditional Hindu caste system, Dalits (formerly known as 'untouchables') are considered the lowest of low castes, and some Dalit groups reject Hindu religious practices such as the ban on eating beef.
...
The event, the first of its kind at the university, was to campaign for beef to be included on menus at student hostel accommodation.

"It is unfortunate that people who consume beef are looked down upon by the upper castes, but for centuries beef has been part of our diet," B. Sudarshan, a Dalit research scholar and festival organizer, told AFP.

"What is wrong in consuming beef? Those opposed to it can advise people not to have beef but they can't force their diktat on us."

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/International/2012/Apr-16/170354-clashes-at-beef-eating-festival-in-south-india.ashx#axzz1sCTStlm6


A bit from Googl Books about Dalits and beef-eating - I don't know if it's balanced or not:

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=8E8XyZNBy-AC&lpg=PA239&pg=PA241#v=onepage&q&f=false

LeftishBrit

(41,205 posts)
7. Eating beef is, I believe, prohibited by Hindu theology
Mon Apr 16, 2012, 11:37 AM
Apr 2012

In any case, if people want to eat beef, I think they should be able to; if others think it's immoral or against their culture, they don't have to attend.

muriel_volestrangler

(101,318 posts)
8. The link in #5 put it as "on menus at student hostel accommodation"
Mon Apr 16, 2012, 12:31 PM
Apr 2012

I would guess the equivalent for the UK would be someone campaigning for horse or dog to be on the menu in a student cafeteria.

dmallind

(10,437 posts)
12. Not really - the UK lacks a huge indigenous horse or dog eating population
Tue Apr 17, 2012, 11:02 AM
Apr 2012

The real equivalent might be complaints if universities stopped offering chips in order to salve the haute cuisine snobbery of the upper classes.

muriel_volestrangler

(101,318 posts)
14. No, I don't think that works at all as an analogy
Tue Apr 17, 2012, 12:03 PM
Apr 2012

First of all, eating chips is not hated by the 'upper classes'. They may not be as 'traditional' to them as they are to people who have always had a chippie just down the road from them, but there is no moral prohibition on them for anyone. We need a food which British (or, roughly similarly, American) people would not think of eating, for moral reasons, though others do, to use for a comparison.

Secondly, it's not just a few 'upper class' people in India that object to eating beef - it's the majority. There is, however, one 'class', the most oppressed, among whom are some who say it's fine.

Thirdly, the non-serving of beef is already in place. The Dalits are fighting for a change.

dmallind

(10,437 posts)
15. I think it's closer than your suggestion. There is no real parallel though
Tue Apr 17, 2012, 12:24 PM
Apr 2012

I am not sure if it is a majority or not. The population is majority Hindu and non-Dalit certainly (despite their 160-odd million strength), but we have no idea how many take the dietary code seriously, how many put up with it grudgingly for tradition's sake, and how many ignore it either openly or covertly. While we have to consider the affects of cultural influence, the diaspora of Indian people gives us some clue. I grew up in a Yorkshire estate wheere whites were a small minority. The many Indian restaurants sold beef to a one, and I doubt it was only to the few Anglos. IIRC just one of my dozen or so Indian classmates did not eat beef at school dinners - and he was a strict enough Hindu to be entirely vegetarian. Funnily enough I work and live now in an area of the US with a minuscule Indian population, but two of them are in my department. One beef eater. One veggie. I certainly know full well these are not people in India surrounded by its culture, they are adventurous enough to be emigrants, and educated enough to have escaped many superstitions. They are not representative of India's population. They are also however Indian by race, by origin and in most cases by birth, and do give us a clue as to how fungible the prohibition is.

There is no similar food morality in British or Americam culture. Perhaps a closer parallel may be in vegetarians, but here it is reversed, where a sizeable minority has an objection to something the majority (again, assuming there is one in the beef case) feels is acceptable. Few however would find the vegetarians' appeal for a non-meat option in their cafeteria to be a problem - but again there is no cultural ethos against vegetarianism, notwithstnding some lower-echelon antipathy.

The horse/dog is not relevant even though it fits the latter aspect as it would not be an accommodation of real subcultural norms, but a faked affectation for no reason.

muriel_volestrangler

(101,318 posts)
16. Remember that many (most?) Indian restaurants in the UK are run by Muslims
Tue Apr 17, 2012, 01:16 PM
Apr 2012

though, even then, most of the ones I know serve lamb rather than beef.

Here's a list of the slaughter laws for Indian states - in the state in question, Andhra Pradesh, cows can never be slaughtered, while bulls and bullocks can only be if they are 'uneconomical' - so there won't be a major beef cattle industry there. http://www.dahd.nic.in/dahd/reports/report-of-the-national-commission-on-cattle/chapter-ii-executive-summary/annex-ii-8.aspx

In 2003, there was talk of an Indian-wide ban on the slaughter of cows, but it didn't go through, so each state sets its rules: http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/aug/19cow.htm

I think horse and dog are the relevant comparison, because they are meats that most British people would not think of eating, for moral reasons. Yes, if we were majority vegetarian, and typical cafeterias served no meat, there would be a good parallel.

dimbear

(6,271 posts)
10. Interesting that when referring to an odd order about food they use
Tue Apr 17, 2012, 06:57 AM
Apr 2012

a German word. Has someone leaked the fact that Germans enjoy raw bacon occasionally?

dmallind

(10,437 posts)
13. Nah - Indian media/public language is more rich and precise than either British or American usage
Tue Apr 17, 2012, 11:09 AM
Apr 2012

They have either a higher opinion of their readers or a refreshing lack of concern over whines about elitism, because they use a much more vatied lexicon and more complex grammar than most British or American public communication. I enjoy reading the Times of India world news for that precise reason - they don't assume I have only a 6th grade education and am frightened of words not used in reality TV shows.

Vehl

(1,915 posts)
17. This is a cultural, not a religious issue
Tue Apr 17, 2012, 06:14 PM
Apr 2012

The same way American students would be revolted if their high-school decided to serve Roasted dogs and cats.

ps:
Btw on the issue of Caste, I have opened a new thread
http://www.democraticunderground.com/121821286

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