While the country is engulfed in beef bans and the ensuing politics around it, a group of youngsters in Delhi has devised a unique way to mark their protest and spread the culture of “food sharing”.
Tweaking the last B of BYOB (Bring Your Own Booze) into Bring Your Own “Beef”, 29-year-old Gaurav Jain has planned a “Beefy Picnic” in front of the Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters at 11, Ashoka Road.
“Shocked” at how ban on beef eventually led to the murder of 50-year-old Mohammad Akhlaque in Dadri, Mr. Jain said the idea of choosing the BJP headquarters was to send across a strong message to the politicians of the ruling party. Speaking to The Hindu , he added: “I decided to do a beef picnic in particular because a picnic is marked by sharing food. It is a way of expressing love and friendliness. We need to stop pedestalising beef and restore its original status as a simple food.”
Although the picnic couldn’t actually take place on Sunday as Delhi police detained Mr. Jain and his friends from Patel Chowk metro station while they were on their way to the venue, yet the Facebook page created by him just two days before the event witnessed huge support across social media. Mr. Jain has also been associated with the anti-corruption movement and is now a law student.
Several other participants turned up at Ashoka Road for the picnic after detention of Mr Jain’s group. Incidentally, even the volunteers of Hindu Sena, led by Vishnu Gupta, turned up to confront the youths who had come for the picnic.
Sandeep Narwani, who reached the venue around 20 minutes late, said: “I saw a group of people in red stoles chanting slogans against us. They too were detained later.”
After his release from Parliament Street police station around 7 p.m., Mr. Jain said: “We have come to a point where beef has ceased to exist as just food. It has now become an excuse to alienate and kill people. It is disappointing that the life of an animal, which some claim to be their mother, has suddenly become more sacrosanct than the life of a fellow human being.”
Meanwhile, the beef and sandwiches they picked from a restaurant for the picnic, turned into a sumptuous “dinner” for Mr. Jain and his friends at the end of the day.
We have come to a point where beef has ceased to exist as just food. It has now become an excuse to alienate and kill people
