Bengaluru: Girish Karnad joins beef protest, calls ban by government ’tyranny’

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Bengaluru, April 10, 2015: Playwright and actor Girish Karnad was in attendance among several others at an event organized by the Democratic Youth Federation of India outside the Town Hall in Bengaluru to protest the beef ban in Maharashtra by the BJP led government.

With several state governments like Haryana also planning on introducing similar laws, Karnad said that it was “straight-forward tyranny”. The Jnanapith awardee, who also joined in the protest, spoke to the media saying that the government had no right or reason to interfere with the culture of the people.

 

Protesters criticised the beef ban as an attempt to encroach upon the choice of food and against the diverse food culture of Indian society.

Karnad and famous Kannada writer Marulasiddappa who also participated in the protest did not eat beef,but said they support the event and stand against such ban.

"I don’t want people to say that because I eat beef therefore I opposed the law. No, everyone has the right to practice...." Karnad said.

To a question he said "Who said large part our population doesn’t eat beef? This nonsense is created by Brahmins;this is created by Hindutva protagonists. Vokkaligas, Muslims, Christians, Dalits and many other communities eat....then how is it against the practice of large population of this
country?"

Marulasiddappa said "I have not eaten beef here because I don’t follow that food habit, I have that right, but at the same time I don’t have right to scorn at those who eat it. I have respect towards them."

Anticipating trouble as the event had invited a lot of opposition, police intervened and took away the eatables made of beef from the organisers.

Criticising the police action as undemocratic, organisers said, "this is against the law, we criticise this act by the police, ours was a peaceful programme, we have in no way affected the law and order situation."