Opinion

Don’t want Biryani on Diwali? Don’t eat. Simple!

Not eating a particular food on Diwali is an individual choice, immaterial to the availability of that item.

(Digpu News) Nothing pains me more to write about this right after Diwali celebrations in India – a country known for preaching and teaching secularism to the world. Shockingly, Google took less than a second to show me results for ‘communal violence in Diwali’.

The morning news wrap of all leading television channels carried headlines of how a Muslim man was harassed to close his biryani shop for the occasion. It is immaterial to say that eating a non-vegetarian meal on Diwali is allowed in some ‘Hindu’ communities. But not allowing someone to sell their items on a particular day is rare in Free India.

With time, people have tried to bottled Hinduism and dictate its new beginnings. Asking companies to ban an advertisement in the name of protecting women’s modesty to threatening a 10-month-old girl of rape as his father openly supported his Muslim teammate – is a reflection of modern Hinduism. A vast and diverse religion whose literature is currently being destroyed by powerful men for their benefit.

Growing communal incidents during a religious festival

It is not long that people from across the world have condemned the minority attacks in Bangladesh during the Durga puja. As per the reports and on-ground sources, the riot was purposely incited for electoral gains. Due to violence, the Hindus of Gazipur in Bangladesh have decided not to celebrate Diwali, Dhaka Tribune reported.

In Australia, some Bangladeshi Hindus have decided to forego their Diwali celebrations in solidarity with Hindu attacks in their native country. It just dampens the joy of a community festival at large, if not only the festival economy.

In India, the harassment of a Muslim shop owner was a shameful incident. But does that reflect the spirit of Diwali? As a kid, everyone was taught to give sweets to their neighbour on Diwali irrespective of their religion. If selling biryani in Diwali is not right, why do people love and wait for biryani on Eid? The choice of food is an individual expression of their rightful freedom. If someone doesn’t want to have biriyani on Diwali, they can simply don’t have it.

If food is an issue, what about women safety?

Most Hindu festivals are about celebrating female power. Every Hindus call their daughter ‘Laxmi’. Then how can people who preach this religion to other communities, give rape threats to a 10-month-old girl?

Oh! Women, according to masculine Hinduism, are second class citizens. (The writer did not witness any literary existence of masculine Hinduism). Now the question arises, how come they are worshipped on Diwali and Navratri.

No, they are women, and female Gods are different, I guess! Female Gods are divine. They don’t belong to the universe and are supernatural. Hinduism is the only religion in the world that believes that Gods are their family members. Humans offer their regular food to God as prasad. Again, it is an ideological contradiction that is written and protested about without much hope for action. Unfortunately, it won’t stop on its own if we don’t take action. 

Why don’t Muslims don’t eat any of their forbidden food items on Eid even when they are available? It is called dedication. The lack of dedication was proven by the religious goons yesterday. But thank God, all Hindus are not like them. They do follow their traditions without any dictation.

But why are people quiet?

Every Indian who still believes in secularism is quiet, thinking it is impossible to change the majority mindset. A small grocery shopkeeper has rightly put it in words. “The common wave of ignorance in modern beings about bigger things has fueled the religious division,” the owner said. No one will question the ever-rising price of medicines, fuel, groceries and other daily use items. Out of personal experience, a particular tablet strip cost me 20 rupees more in a week.

Are they scared? They might be as the thin air of surveillance is always pre-existent. Every online shopper might have realized that after shopping online their social media feed is filled with advertisements of that particular product from different brands or with related products. 

On the other hand, people have forgotten that ‘Hindutva’ driven ideology is still less, and that’s why we still write or say that Hindutva is on the rise! A little while ago, the government suggested removing some chapters from the kid’s syllabus depicting the nascent idea of secularism. Thus, it forces me to applaud the smartness of the Indian government, but without the act of balancing, radicalization will only lead to arm protests. 

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Sayantika Bhowal

Sayantika Bhowal is a news connoisseur who is particularly interested in politics and human interest stories. She holds More »
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