- The subject headline itself amply clarifies why there should be no interference, least of all from the democratically elected governments in the dietary habits of people as chosen appropriate to individual palate. It makes a sensible enough case to keep the authorities concerned stay out of the realm of personal choices by diligently allowing them to uphold those preferences. Of late, there is any number of incidents reported across the country forcefully dictating us as to what should be eaten or not eaten by the overzealous political leaders. There are no fewer than government diktats on the dietary habits indicating definite politicization of the matter.
PC: Rachel MacPherson
- It is not out of place to remind all concerned that politics dictating food habits is untenable since the Constitution protects dietary choices by guaranteeing the right to free expression as defined in Article 19 and the right to life and personal liberty as defined in Article 21, respectively. Hats-off to the visionary founding fathers of the nation who foresaw potentialities of prickly issues cropping up as we progress, whilst preparing the Constitution. Unfortunately, efforts are underway to grossly undermine those very rights so unambiguously enunciated in the Constitution, in the letter as well as in spirit. As the interpreter and arbitrator of the Constitution, the judiciary are constrained to step in from time to time to address these anomalies.
- Recently, the Kerala High Court had to order reversing of Lakshadweep administration’s move to exclude chicken and meat from the mid-day meal menu pointing out the decision contravenes the national mid-day meal (MDM) scheme approved for the islands. Petitioners rightly claimed the scheme has for many years provided chicken and meat thrice a week on the menu. Notably, the administration did not contest this point as politics over food is part of a larger confrontation underway between the former and Lakshadweep residents who allege a threat to their way of life. This controversy also points to an intense decades-long contestation in politics over-regulating dietary choices.
PC: Gautam Bhatia
- Depending on who is in government, eggs have rolled off MDM menus or made a comeback in some states pointing out how food is being unnecessarily ideologized much to the chagrin of patrons. Based on their personal preferences, the children must be given the option of partaking in an egg or rejecting it rather than the authorities deciding. And the link between these menus and economic prosperity is very strong to ignore. Note that nearly a dozen Indian states serve eggs in MDMs today, and some even milk, unimaginable just a couple of decades back, even as the National Statistical Organization (NSCO) survey demonstrates declining cereal consumption. As you know, the last is always a sure sign of increasing purchasing power.
- Moreover, the nation is also witnessing many cases of lynching, jailing, and assault, all centered around diets. It is worthwhile to reemphasize that India is a multilingual, multicultural, and multireligious country evolving rapidly keeping in line with the aspirational changes. Therefore, dietary habits are bound to change perpetually as today’s children will grow up in a world very different from now in the coming years. Thus, enforcing irrational and unjustifiable dietary preferences forcefully on society in the guise of encouraging Indian diet does not cut ice anymore. As such, the political leaders irrespective of party affiliations should alter their myopic views.
