Now Religion Will Decide What A Child Should Eat!
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
8 March
2024
"An entire sect of Hinduism doesn't
consume onion, garlic and all root vegetables just because some silly books
stated that these things triggered dirty and sinister thoughts and contained
bacteria (this sect doesn't even kill bacteria!). The hardcore and foolishly
devout followers (though not all) follow these hoary-old dietary diktats and
deprive themselves of the unique taste and flavour of an array of
vegetables..."
Trevor Fishlock in his travelogues (he called Jainism, a sect
of Hinduism and wasn't very wrong on this count)
The
controversy around including eggs in mid-day meals has resurfaced once again,
with the Maharashtra government amending a government resolution (GR) that
mandated students in the state be served eggs once a week.
The move
comes in wake of opposition from religious outfits like the Shree Mumbai Jain
Sangh Sangathan (SMJSS), an organisation representing the city’s Jain
community, and members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spiritual (!) cell,
Midday reported.
Now, eggs
will not be served to anyone in a school if 40% of the students there do not
consent to consuming them. This is outright unfair.
Religious
outfits have no right to dictate terms as regards the dietary preferences of a
child. Let a child decide what he or she wants to eat. Religion, elders and
even parents have no right to impose dietary preferences and prejudices on an
impressionable child.
Agreed, the
sight of meat, whether raw or cooked, may be uncomfortable to a few, but the
sight of an innocuous boiled egg is not offensive even to the vegetarians or
vegans, unless they make a fetish of their idiosyncrasies. Children, who don't
eat eggs, will eat something else.
Why should
religious outfits interfere? Food is a matter of personal choice and
preference. I'm a pure vegetarian and I've never tried eggs as well despite
growing up in Iran, Ireland and England. My medico father was a hardcore non
vegetarian who (fortunately) never suggested that I should also eat non veg.
Nor did my teachers in Iran ever force me to eat meat. Non-veg never appealed
to me but that's my personal choice and perception. Why should others follow my
dietary habits and predilections?
Many of my
Jain friends and acquaintances love to gorge on various egg preparations,
mutton, beef, pork, chicken and what not. At the same time, I've Muslim friends
who don't even eat cakes that contain eggs! They're strict vegetarians. Tomorrow,
these (Jain) outfits will say that children shouldn't be served khichdi because
it has onion and garlic! This is ridiculous as well as exasperating.
Moreover,
eggs offer significant nutritional value as they provide high-quality protein.
While it’s possible to replace them with plant-based proteins, such
alternatives may be costly and impractical. A single egg can easily fulfil a
child’s daily protein requirements. Remember that famous advice given by a
dietician in the late 70s, whose name I can't recall at the moment. She
famously said, " If you don't give an egg to a child, he or she cannot
become an egghead." Religion has completely paralysed this country.
------
A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul
is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He
has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several
languages including Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/religion-child-eat-meat-jain/d/131873
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