Ramchandra Guha, India’s eminent historian and one of the current dispensation’s most vocal critics riled up social media users when he put up a picture of his gastronomic adventures in Goa.
Guha wrote: “After a magical morning in Old Goa we had lunch in Panaji, where—since this is a BJP ruled state—I decided to eat beef in celebration.”
To this repartee, one Twitter user replied: “One may have political leanings / views but why say celebrating an animal's slaughter. Sad to see a historian tweet such stuff. What will the lesser-read do?”
This led Guha to agree with the Twitter user and write: “Take your point. The photo was cavalier and unnecessary. The argument about the freedom of choice as regards diet could have been made without it.”
However, Guha had in the past stated that he was vegatarian which led Twitters users to ask how a vegatarian was eating beef. To this Guha pointed at an old article where he said he became non-veg during his boarding school days in Doon.
BJP – no beef with beef outside cow belt
Guha was perhaps referring to the discrepancy of BJP’s stand on beef in different states. While in the so-called cow belt, the party’s firmly against consuming beef, it has no such moral compunctions in states like Goa or Mizoram.
In fact, CM Manohar Parrikar had said in the Goa Assembly in 2017 that the state’s meat traders got its excess beef supplies from Karnataka.
In Meghalaya, ahead of assembly polls in 2017, BJP spokesperson J A Lyngdoh said in a statement that the party “has already clarified that it (beef ban) will not be imposed in the northeastern states. Livestock is a state subject. It is up to the states to decide”.
He also said beef ban would not be imposed in the state, adding preventing cow slaughter was neither a good economic measure nor had constitutional backing.
In Mizoram, state BJP chief J V Hluna that the Bible allowed the state’s majority-Christian population to consume beef: “When our party president Amit Shah was in Mizoram, we asked him about the controversy over banning beef across India. He assured us there is nothing to worry and asked us to follow our tradition. And, as per bible and our tradition consumption beef is allowed.”
In 2015, Minister of State (Home) Kiren Rijiju, who is from Arunachal Pradesh had said: “I eat beef, I’m from Arunachal Pradesh, can somebody stop me? So let us not be touchy about somebody’s practices. This is a democratic country. Sometimes, some statements are made which are not palatable. If a Mizo Christian says that this is the land of Jesus, why should someone have a problem in Punjab or Haryana? We have to honour the sentiments of each place and each location.”
