Just when it looked like vegetarian/non-vegetarian separation issues were limited to hostel messes at the Indian Institute of Technologies (IITs), an incident came up at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). It was informed by the student unit All India Students' Association (AISA) of the varsity that two separate jars were placed for the same raita in the hostel mess.
The statement released by the unit read, "It has come to our notice that a new kind of discriminatory behavior is being practiced in the mess of the Narmada Hostel. Last Wednesday, when biryani was being served in the mess, boarders found that two separate jars had been kept for the same raita." Adding more, it said, "Raita is a common dish served during biryani and other meals, and it is a vegetarian side dish often enjoyed with biryani."
"All the messes in JNU serves both vegetarian and non-vegetarian biryanis for students with different food preferences. However, when the same raita was found to be placed in two different jars – one for vegetarians and the other for non-vegetarians – some students inquired about the reason behind this. They were told that some students claimed that their sentiments were hurt when they had to share the same serving spoon placed in a common jar for raita (which is the same for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians)," it added.
Opposing this move, the student unit termed the practice as "puritanical, discriminatory and casteist". " For generations, boarders have shared meals from the same mess, sitting next to each other in peace and harmony while respecting each other's food preferences, and the same practice should be encouraged and advanced at all costs," it added.
"We request the boarders of Narmada and the hostel committee members not to allow this discriminatory behaviour to become a common practice," the release read.
To recall, recently, IIT Bombay segregated tables for vegetarians alone in the hostel mess. This was followed by IIT Hyderabad.
