An outright misinformation in DNA: Non-veg food is banned in Ahmedabad

By Rajiv Shah

I was a little surprised to read a picture story in DNA news website, which includes Ahmedabad as the first city among seven where non-vegetarian consumption is banned.

I don't know about the other cities in the list -- Pushkar, Palitana, Tirupati, Veshno Devi, Shirdi, Haridwar -- in the story, which claims that the information is not an opinion but has been obtained from media reports.

However, as for Ahmedabad, non-veg food is not only easily available but is fast becoming increasingly common for those seeking to eat outside home. Not only this, you can easily order it online -- I have myself done it several times.

Of course, there are Jain-dominated housing societies where non-veg food is "not allowed". But I am told even some Jains go out and reach up to non-veg eateries in western Ahmedabad to have "tasty food."

The DNA story is as false as the common saying that Gujarat is a vegetarian state. Officially, 42% people are non-veg in Gujarat, but a caste wise calculation reveals that at least 72% Gujaratis take non-veg food.

Only upper caste Brahmins and Banias, Patels, Jains and a very few OBC castes have been traditionally vegitarian. Others -- Muslims, upper caste Rajputs, Dalits, Adivasis and numerically strong OBC castes Thakores and Kolis are have been traditionally non-veg consumers.

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