An apartment complex in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar recently found itself at the centre of a heated dispute, not over noise or parking complaints, but over the food choices of its residents.Marathi-speaking families living in the society were allegedly labelled “dirty” by some members of the Gujarati community for consuming non-vegetarian food. The remark didn’t go down well with the Marathi-speaking residents, leading to a heated argument that escalated to the point where police had to step in to calm things down.AdvertisementA video of the confrontation quickly spread across social media platforms, drawing widespread attention and reigniting the long-standing debate between vegetarians and non-vegetarians in Mumbai, particularly when it comes to housing and public space.More from Explainers
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Can the Indian cheetah be ‘revived’ with gene tech?Here’s what we know so far.What happened in the society?The controversy began at Ghatkopar’s Sambhav Darshan Co-operative Housing Society, where a resident claimed that his neighbour raised objections while he was having non-vegetarian food.According to the resident, Ram Ringe, his neighbour had allegedly told him, “You Marathi people are dirty, you eat fish and meat.”Following the altercation over the choice of food, Ringe reached out to the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) to raise the issue and seek support.Historically, both the Raj Thackeray-led MNS and the undivided Shiv Sena have argued that Marathi-speakers encountered hardships in buying or renting flats in certain areas due to their non-vegetarian food habits.MNS respondsOn Wednesday night, MNS leaders arrived at the society and directly warned members of the Gujarati community. They made it clear that any mistreatment of Marathi residents would have consequences.In a video from the altercation that has since gone viral, an MNS leader can be heard saying, “He thinks Marathis are dirty. That means Maharashtra is also dirty. So, why did he come to a dirty place?”Editor’s Picks1‘Language is not religion’: Supreme Court’s ruling on Urdu’s use on signboards explainedThe leader further warned the man that if he continued misbehaving, “he would not be able to step out of society.”Tensions didn’t ease the next day. On Thursday, MNS members visited the society again after some residents reportedly demanded a boycott of Ram Ringe in the common WhatsApp group.This time, the MNS confronted society chairman Raj Parte directly and warned him that if the harassment continued, the party would “respond in its own style.”Advertisement“Anybody can live in Mumbai and work here, but we will not tolerate such things… how can others dictate what they should eat?” Parte said.As the situation escalated, police were called to the housing complex. However, no formal complaints were filed by either party.A police officer told NDTV, “Ringe contested the apartment committee election and lost. Since then, two factions have emerged at the apartment complex. We will talk to both sides and ensure this internal matter is solved.”Later, state minister Asish Shelar condemned such incidents of “disrespect” on the basis of language as unacceptable.Advertisement“No one should commit the sin of looking down upon Marathi-speaking people, their language and their culture,” Shelar said.“It is the stand of the Maharashtra government that the Marathi language and its culture should be respected. Creating disrespect among people of different languages is not acceptable to us,” he warned.The growing veg vs non-veg divide in MumbaiWhat happened in Ghatkopar isn’t a one-off. Over the years, Mumbai has witnessed a growing cultural divide where dietary preferences, especially between vegetarians and non-vegetarians, have become grounds for dispute in housing, commute, and even neighbourhood interactions.Across multiple pockets of the city, such as Ghatkopar and Mahavir Nagar, it’s not uncommon to find housing listings that come with a “Vegetarians only” disclaimer. These unofficial restrictions are often passed off as lifestyle preferences of its residents, but for many, they feel like coded forms of exclusion.In one telling incident reported by The Straits Times, residents from a largely vegetarian society in a western suburb of Mumbai claimed that garbage collectors refused to pick up waste that included fish bones or egg shells. Meat-eating residents were left with no choice but to find alternate ways of disposing of their kitchen waste.AdvertisementFor many newcomers to the city, this bias is encountered during house-hunting.A Mumbai-based non-profit sector employee, who wished to remain anonymous, shared how she had to strike off seven shortlisted flats simply because they were available only for vegetarians.“This is a very common problem in Mumbai when house-hunting. You are mindful of it and choose not to engage with owners who put out their houses only for vegetarians,” the 35-year-old woman told the news outlet. She believes such exclusion stems from a belief system where owners feel their kitchens might be “contaminated” by ingredients they personally avoid or consider religiously inappropriate.“I cannot see reason in any form of discrimination,” she added.Eventually, she and her husband found a home owned by a Christian family in what she described as a “very mixed” religious neighbourhood, something she felt was increasingly rare in today’s Mumbai.Even the city’s public transport system has had its share of food-related flare-ups. In 2016, a group of commuters on the Mumbai Metro was stopped for carrying fish inside the train. While authorities defended the move, citing policy rules, the incident quickly snowballed into a political flashpoint.AdvertisementMNS leaders questioned why Metro regulations should differ from other forms of public transport, like buses and locals, where carrying raw meat isn’t prohibited, Mumbai Mirror had reported.The rising frequency of such incidents points to a growing, deeper cultural divide and is concerning for a city known for its diversity._With input from agencies_TagsIndiaMumbaiEnd of Article
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‘Dirty’ for eating fish: How row in Mumbai is latest clash between vegetarians and non-vegetarians
