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'Beef-eating is also a Hindu tradition'

It would be fair if the VHP would insist that Hindus first stop eating beef. Let's start with a few Hindu facts:

1. The Scheduled Castes and Tribes, which constitute 22 per cent of Hindus, eat beef and pork.
2. Many Hindus living in the coastal areas of Bengal, Orissa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu eat beef. So do many Kashmiris.
3. Many Hindus in Tripura, Nagaland, Mizoram, Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh eat beef.
4. The VHP's ardent Hindu supporters in Trinidad, Guyana, Fiji, Malaysia, the US, UK, Abu Dhabi, UAE, Saudi Arabia all eat beef. In fact they cannot live without the famous McDonald's beefburgers. Some prefer Burger King.
5. The tribals, who constitute another 18 per cent of India's population, eat beef. Whether they live in Jharkhand or Chhattisgarh.
6. Some Punjabi Hindus, Rajputs, Yadavs and other backward castes eat beef.
7. The largest exporters of beef from India to the Gulf countries are companies owned by Hindus and Jains.
8. Finally, as is well established by historian Professor Dwijendra Narayan Jha from Delhi University [The Myth of the Holy Cow], it is a Hindu tradition from ancient times of the Vedas to eat beef.

Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 10:42:11 +0500 (GMT)
Subject: VHP now asks Muslims not to eat beef

Give a bully an inch....! "Then we'll see."

My god -- who *are* these guys? And why do people go and ask them anything at all? Extreme-thinking lunatics. Fundamental rights, anyone? I'm a Hindu -- and though I do not relish meat of any kind, when I've been hungry I have had beef. Ancient Aryans used to serve it as a speciality. What narrow minds are these?

I have the right to eat stuff I see fit as long as I do not cause anyone loss or harm (tangible, please).

I too revere my roads that a zillion fellow citizens of all ilk spit on. And roadsides where they attend to Mother Nature's calls. And I revere the true democratic and all-embracing spirit of Hinduism -- which these guys are out to murder. Let them respect my sensibilities first before they demand weird things of others.

Aren't there laws against this sort of thing? God, if this keeps on it'll be tough for sane people to live here. These thugs are managing to send scary signals to the last remaining 'Indians' of all kinds.
Sameer

Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 11:25:13 +0530
Subject: VHP now asks Muslims not to eat beef

This is getting really dangerous. I hope a majority of Hindus do not support the VHP and demonstrate this asap. The very fact that someone thinks about making statements like these is disturbing.

Re beef-eating: There is enough documented evidence that suggests that even in the golden days of Hinduism beef was not strictly prohibited and, in fact, consumed even by the high castes.

Keeping aside the fact that such a diktat should be completely unacceptable to any reasonable Indian, the VHP is being deliberately selective in picking out the target of its diktat. There is a large number of people in the South -- Tamil Nadu and Kerala -- including Hindus, who relish beef. Beef and idli are served by food vendors just outside Tambaram station, for instance. There's the famous beef pickle of Kerala. The fact that the VHP has left this section of people out indicates its selective and inconsistent approach and should be recognised as such by Hindus.

There are nearly 500 million cattle in India. So-called tradition notwithstanding, whether one eats beef should remain a personal choice given that there is no immediate danger of cows becoming extinct in India. While there is a great deal to be proud of in Hindu culture (eg its philosophical and spiritual aspects), there is also a great deal of baggage Hindus can get rid of, eg caste, which leads to discrimination and violence even now. It is time we focus on real issues and realise the game being played by these phony VHP Hindus.

The demands for the three other temples clearly shows that the VHP is going to raise the ante in general, which means how the populace approaches the VHP/BJP/RSS/Bajrang Dal/Shiv Sena agenda over the next few years will seal India's fate as a nation.

I am really curious to know how many Hindus really identify with the VHP's causes. I sure don't. Currently I am so cynical that I feel the need to be prepared to emigrate out of Mera Bharat Mahaan with my family should the Gujarat fire spread to the rest of the country. I guess I am among the fortunate ones who may have this choice.
Rakesh Barve

Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 15:10:49 +0530
Subject: VHP now asks Muslims not to eat beef

Ah! Have your cake and eat it too. Could you please guide me to one square inch of land in India where cow slaughter is not illegal? So where is the question of eating beef?

Second, if the VHP is of the view that putting arrogant pre-conditions to something like peace talks is smart, let them live in their own paradise. The world knows that these guys are illiterate bags of shit, and they can remain so for eternity -- who cares? Today, every sane Indian, be he Muslim or Hindu, is more bothered about how to beat the economic slump than construct temples or mosques. India is a vast land and for the one who wants to offer prayers -- be it namaaz or puja -- a brick & mortar structure is of no consequence -- sara jahaan hamara is what he believes in.
Nusrat Abbasi

Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 00:37:19 -0400
Subject: VHP now asks Muslims not to eat beef

Giriraj Kishore has definitely come from Mars. He has forgotten that India is a democratic country where rights of citizens are protected and that if he wishes to change rules he should use the courts to do so. And not issue statements such as these, which incite violent reactions and foster divisive behaviour amongst the people. Why doesn't he go solve the basic problems such as poverty and education instead of looking for opportunities to divide the Indian people? I guess that's too commonsensical and doesn't appeal to the electorate.
Arthur Mendonca

Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 13:29:29 +0100 (BST)
Subject: 'The Hindus are terribly angry'

I don't know why the Hindus need to be angry. Yes, we all live in India. India is equally the country of Muslims as of Hindus. So it's not a question of our country and theirs.

If the Hindus are really angry at what has happened in J&K, why don't these angry guys take their swords and face the militants in J&K and kill them, rather than showing their virility to women and children in Ahmedabad?

If Pakistan is waging a proxy war on India, why don't these angry Hindus have the guts to go the border and try to finish the state of Pakistan once and for all? Why kill children and rape women in Ahmedabad?

I also don't know why the Hindus want the Congress party to be scared of them. After all, the Hindus should be thankful to the Congress, since it has done more service to the Ayodhya temple than the BJP. The opening of the mosque for shilanyas, the kar seva and the destruction of the mosque and the building of the temple at Ayodhya all happened during Congress rule.

Contrast this with the BJP's contribution to the Ayodhya temple. They have been sitting on it for the past four years and they remembered the temple only when the UP elections came, and made frantic, half-baked efforts to get some electoral advantage, which was promptly struck down by the Supreme Court.

Every Congress PM from Indira, Rajiv and Narasimha Rao was criticised for their pro-Hindu leanings, and that was the reason the Leftists moved away from the Congress. Now the same Congress party is being accused of being anti-Hindu!
Dina

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