Religion, community, and food: Jainism
Food centres around religion, identity and politics in my experience. A vegetarian diet linked to the Jain religion is followed in my house. One of Jainism’s tenants is non-violence against all living cells which directly relates to food choices. Certain root vegetables (while all shouldn't be) aren’t consumed in my house. This is because, as one explanation follows, that by killing the root of the plant, it can no longer grow; however, if one consumes the fruit, (say a tomato) the rest of the plant can continue growing.
My locality is densely packed with Jains and no restaurant in a 2-3 kilometre radius is permitted to serve non-vegetarian food. Social circles are therefore quite homogenised. Since non-vegetarian food is commonly associated for consumption by Muslim and Christian adherents, food choices becomes an element that can be used for decisive politics. Politics linked to religion is again relevant again because in my state, the slaughtering of cows and consumption of beef is banned because of an elevated position of cows according to interpretations of Hinduism.
This sounds absurd for me to type right now but it was difficult to adapt to the smell and presence of non-vegetarian food. My school until the 5th standard was mostly Jain and only when I moved to another school (more away from my locality) did I make negative note of food I hadn't closely encountered before. I gradually got over my personal reluctancies to its presence. My grandfather to this date either wants me to have a vegetarian room mate or for me to convert a non-vegetarian roommate.
This post was originally published online on January 17, 2017.
