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‘Vigilantes’ force beef curry off Kerala menu at Indian consulate event in Germany

A Malayali diaspora group in Frankfurt had to drop beef curry from its menu for a Consulate General of India festival called ‘Unity in Diversity’.

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New Delhi: The beef ban that holds sway over various parts of India has reared its head abroad, with a Kerala cultural group in Germany being forced to drop beef curry from its menu for a festival organised by the Consulate General of India (CGI) last week.

In a Facebook post published late Monday, the Kerala Samajam Frankfurt — a Malayali diaspora group in Germany — claimed that the CGI in Frankfurt “kindly requested” them to revise their menu after “some people with vested interests raised objection and threatened to make ruckus during the event”.

The statement said that the original menu had been prepared “based on the common food interests of Kerala and its people”, because “all Indian organisations were explicitly asked to present the common delicacies of each state with only restriction being for alcohol”.

Dear Members, Friends and well-wishers of Kerala Samajam Frankfurt,During the recent Indien Fest organised by…

Kerala Samajam Frankfurt यांनी वर पोस्ट केले रविवार, १ सप्टेंबर, २०१९

Vigilantism reaches foreign shores

The diaspora group was to serve the beef curry as part of the ‘Indien Fest’ — a festival held in Frankfurt last Saturday — which, rather ironically, was themed around the concept of ‘Unity in Diversity’. The aim was to showcase the multitude of cultures that co-exist within the country through food, performances and handicraft stalls organised by different state associations.

The Kerala Samajam Frankfurt reiterated that “we as a responsible cultural organisation – representing the peace loving “GODS OWN COUNTRY” decided to comply to maintain peace and harmony and above all, to uplift the core value of INDIA – “UNITY IN DIVERSITY.””

The statement came after the Frankfurt CGI’s request “so that the event could be held without any incidents”.

जर्मनी के फ्रैंकफर्ट शहर में चल रहे इंडियन फेस्ट में भारतीय जायके का लुत्फ.

DW हिन्दी यांनी वर पोस्ट केले शनिवार, ३१ ऑगस्ट, २०१९

The New Indian Express quoted an unidentified member of the Kerala Samajam Frankfurt as saying that the group was “vehemently put under pressure to alter our already published food menu and was asked to remove beef from this list”.

“Ultimately, we succumbed to the pressure to avoid a law and order situation in the city,” said the member.


Also read: Modi govt plans to push buffalo meat exports as China is set to lift curbs on Indian beef


Just days before the event, an online petition, titled ‘Save Culture of COW PROTECTION in Indian NRI Circles & Festivities’, was posted by user Sima Hindu, with the following text:

A screengrab of the online petition. | change.org
A screengrab of the online petition. | change.org

According to the report, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad — an affiliate of the ruling BJP’s parent organisation, RSS — raised the objections and was behind the petition.

Some counter-protests were also held against the removal of beef, in which people held placards — stating “Unity in diversity, we decide what we eat” — and decided to boycott the event.

However, the CGI in Frankfurt called the “cultural extravaganza” a “resounding success” that reportedly saw the participation of nearly 20,000 people.

Kerala has long been a beef-eating state

Kerala, as is well known, has a long tradition of eating beef. So when the Narendra Modi government issued a notification in 2017 banning the sale of cows for slaughter, the Malayalis were up in arms.

The ban was eventually suspended by the Supreme Court, allowing states like Kerala, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Meghalaya, among a few others, to keep the legal status of their beef industry intact.

The Modi government later dropped the restrictions on sale of cattle for slaughter in animal markets.


Also read: Pehlu Khan died of a heart attack. Perhaps he had it coming with all that beef he ate


 

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21 COMMENTS

  1. Dosa should be eaten by Mallus and Keraloos not cow. Look at english man who eat beef and now have mad cow disease. They cannot agree in their parliament on Brexit or any thing else. Goat or lamb curry could be included. Good decision to remove beef from Indian Festival menu. Sab ke sath sab ka vikas.

  2. Red meat causes Cancer of large bowel and prostate. Heart ailments as well.
    Reports from Harvard medical institute.
    The print in is anti hindu. Do not bring in Cow Vigilente in to it.
    Do not provoke Hindus.
    If you want to eat beef get as well Mad Cow Disease.

  3. As a Keralite who eats beef, I can tell you the combination of Porattas with beef (often days old) originally comes from many run down smelly old restaurants in crowded down towns or pathetic railway stations. Once you move out of these places Kerala cusine is much more elaborate and diverse than cheap hamburger equilant of Poratta and beef.

  4. People who are against eating beef , haven’t tried the steaks at Ruth Chris. To quote our Prime Minister Modi “Happy Cows make great steaks”.

    • Atal Bihari Vajpayee was foreign minister of India during Janata Party Government in 1978. During his foreign trips he would order in restaurant “One scotch with soda and beef steak pleeze”. Look what happened to him later in life. He got mad cow disease and could not recognise any one including Advaniji or Modiji.

  5. Next time whoever insists on beef festival shud also serve pork as that is also eaten widely in Kerala. Objective of festival z to celebrate with everyone being mindful of everyone’s sensitivity & food being served shud be acceptable to all so that everyone can enjoy festive feeling

  6. Yes, Mallu Mohammedans are well known for Mopla riots, sending their representatives to ISIS and engage in all sorts of anti national activities. They take great pride in slaughtering helpless innocent defenceless cows and eating their flesh. What an act of valour and courage!! And they are so peaceful, they kill BJP and RSS workers regularly. Real gem of people, these Mallu mussalmaans.

  7. Serve these moo’rons cow sh!t and p!ss in the menu next time. That’s what they are worth and that’s all they should be served. Period. Sh!theads.

  8. Will the same Muslims tolerate pork curry since many Indians also eat pork . Will they also try to discover ‘unity in diversity’ there? No way. Since India is a Hindu majority country, Beef should not be on the dishes specially by Indian consulate. Normal case.

    • Yes Muslims in Kerala do not object others eating pork. You can find several restaurants serving pork and beef dishes even in muslim majority areas in kerala. Kerala is very much part of India and the most advanced state in literacy, health, poverty alleviation, least corrupt and in human development index comparable to even european countries. Please come and visit kerala. You will fall in love with it.

      • I am a proud Keralite. However, I believe that the eating habits of Keralites is the worst in India, except may be for Nagaland. Any intelligent person in the world today knows that eating red meat, be it beef, pork or whatever else, is disastrous for the body and mind, not to speak of the environment. If taste is the only criteria, then the beef eaters next target would be other human beings because the humans who eat other humans (such as the tribes in the Amazon Basin in Brazil) claim that the human meat is the tastiest of all.. Beware of the beef eaters. Their minds are as sick as their bodies. The hospitals of Kerala looks like concert venues. One can hardly move around inside any hospital due to the increasing patient crowds. If the Keralites are smart as you claim, they should eat what is good for the body, mind and the environment. That is the real proof of intelligence, not the literacy rate. The patient population will drop to 10% of what it is today. All they have to do is listen to any responsible doctor in Kerala or other parts of the world.

  9. Kerala has been long standing beef eating state. Some part of Kerala do not eat pork due to their religious practices. This is the one state have their own country within India. But Malayalis in general are very liberal in their thoughts and easily fit in any place, including Mars if there is way.

    • Yes, generally muslims in Kerala do not eat Pork but they do not object to other malayalees eating it even in muslim majority areas. A truly plural society. You’ll find all categories of malayalees enjoying the iconic kerala beef fry/curry across different faiths including Hindus.

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