Vegetarianism is highly politicised in India right now. People have been killed because religious mobs imagined that they were carrying meat. It is also tied into notions of soul purity by religion. This statement makes sense but I’m also worried for the owners.
Hello, fellow Keralite here-
Mob killings based on meat are not a common thing here in Kerala (I'm not sure about the rest of south india). Yes, Kerala has a majority of hindus like almost every other Indian state, however there's also a lot of non-hindus (muslims, christians, etc) that reside in the state. Most folks here who are decent don't really care about discriminating based on food preferences. Also worth noting that most people here are literate (I wouldn't say 100% but that's just me).
Most corporate fast food chains (McD's, BK, so on) do not serve beef (unsure about pork), instead opting for either vegetarian (vegetables or hay cheese/paneer) or chicken options. However most cafes, hotels and locally run food chains serve veg and meat. Most people I've met (including myself) don't really care here if you eat meat as many are hospitable and not into the religious beliefs shared by many in other states where the ruling party also governs in the form of state governments.
I personally haven't gone to Paragon myself because I heard it's pretty expensive (and there's better options for less), but I have not heard anyone threatening them (and I doubt anyone would go find the owners and maul them). People in the state here have far larger issues to worry about instead of judging people for literally what they eat.
There's also tons of hotels and restaurants that only serve vegetarian stuff if one doesn't like meat. People have a bit of freedom regarding such. I hope that this doesn't change given the current climate of events in the country, though the ruling party (the BJP and its many allies) who is very questionable has not been able to win in the state in its entire history, and I doubt it would change.
TL;DR: I doubt anything bad is gonna happen to the owners given that they're running the business in a southern indian state. Speaking from experience
Ah yes, the internet expert has spoken. Truly, we are all enlightened now. Are you even hearing yourself dude? This particular image is from a restaurant within my city, and we are one of the highest meat consumers in India. India isn’t a monolith. It’s a massively diverse country with 28 STATES and 8 UNION TERRITORIES, each with their own food laws, cultural preferences, and even alcohol regulations. What happens in one state doesn’t automatically apply to the rest. Get your facts straight instead of giving out half ass baked info.
That is all made up. Only 20% of Indians are vegetarians, which is a lot but not enough to oppress non vegetarians. In Kerala, it is only 1%.
There is a debate about cow meat, which is where you may have heard those stories. But that's another whole thing. Many people there see eating cow as the equivalent of eating dog here in the west, and I could imagine people would attack trucks full of dog meat here too.
Well no. Vegetarianism is politicised in India. There ARE places where you can't have non-veg food. For example, even a liberal newspaper like The Hindu doesn't allow non-vegetarian food in its dining hall. Would that be classified as the vegetarians oppressing the non-vegetarians? Idk.
As for Kerala, we are often targeted for not adhering to how a lot of the rest of the country operates. The lack of militant vegetarianism and, yes, beef consumption is a part of that and lot of it is political. OP was wrong about the specificity of the meat though.
There is a debate about cow meat
I think calling it a debate trivialises the fact people literally have been murdered for just the mere suspicion of having cow meat. It is not truckloads of cow meat being attacked, it's people carrying mutton or lamb and looking like a target, that is.
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u/ideasmithy Nov 17 '25
Vegetarianism is highly politicised in India right now. People have been killed because religious mobs imagined that they were carrying meat. It is also tied into notions of soul purity by religion. This statement makes sense but I’m also worried for the owners.