A group of students of the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) organised a beef festival on Sunday.
The students said they had planned an informal discussion on the laws governing prevention of cruelty to animals and since the event was likely to go on till 7.30 p.m., they decided to eat beef too.
Political message
A research scholar said the festival was organised to send out a political message. “IITs are not politically vibrant like the central universities. In the IITs, we now have open discussions and we started with the topic of the prevention of animal cruelty act. As many as 80 students participated. It is a resistance movement and not a protest,” the student said.
According to him, quite a large number of students from the technical streams participated.
“While the Central government is trying to prioritise what we can eat, we were trying to state our priority. It was a collective movement but there was no sloganeering or poster pasting,” he said.
On Sunday, a message was circulated among students that read, “I welcome you to join me and my friends at Himalaya lawns, 7.30 p.m. today for a discussion about the implications of the recent Central government rule on the prevention of trade of cattle for slaughter. Let’s munch on some good beef as we hear from our friends on what they think about this issue. I request your attendance in the discussion even if you are vegan or not a big fan of the red meat, but constructive participation through your views/queries/criticisms/concerns will be much appreciated.”
The IIT-M has a separate restaurant serving meat, students said, adding that since the event was organised as an informal discussion, they did not need the permission of the Dean of Students.
