NEW DELHI, Aug 30: It may not be palatable for many people, particularly Hindus, across the country, but it is nothing unusual in Kerala. Employees of a Canara Bank branch in Kerala’s Kochi staged a peculiar protest after bank’s regional manager allegedly banned beef at the office canteen.
The employees responded by serving beef and paratha, a traditional combination in the state, outside the branch. According to reports a Deputy Regional Manager recently transferred from Bihar and took charge of this branch recently, has kicked up at least two storms already, the second being allegedly harassing staff.
Planned by the Bank Employees Federation of India, the protest was first supposed to oppose that alleged harassment. But when news of the beef ban emerged, the focus switched, and a Federation leader pointed out that food was a personal choice that is protected to the Constitution and the bank authorities should not interfere in it.
Political leaders in the state have rallied behind the protest, and KT Jaleel, an independent lawmaker supported by the ruling Left, condemned attempts to control cultural freedoms. “It is not up to ‘superior’ officers to decide what to wear… eat… or think. No scandal of Sanghis (referring to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological mentor of the BJP) will happen in Kerala,” he said, also offering support to others who might face similar restraints.
“The soil here is red. Let us talk and act against fascists without fear of flying the red flag. No one will do anything to you. Because when the communists are in company, the comrades will not allow anyone to raise the saffron flag and disturb the people,” he said in a post on Facebook.
Kerala, where beef is an integral part of the state’s culinary culture, has frequently battled ‘beef bans’, including in 2017 when the federal government banned the sale of cattle for slaughter. That led to fierce protests across the state and festivals celebrating beef-based foods. Beef in Kerala means both cows and buffaloes and its consumption has no religious overtones. Not only do some Hindus here eat beef, going by sales figures, it is also the most-favoured meat in the state.
(Manas Dasgupta)