An executive order directing all hotels and restaurants within the administrative boundary of the Naharlagun subdivision to remove signboards displaying the word ‘beef’ by July 18 next, has become a topic of much debate on social media with netizens expressing their strong resentment. The district administration says that the order was issued as a “preventive measure so that the people do not make a religious issue out of it in the future.” The order stated that the word ‘beef’ may hurt sentiments of a section of the community. Failure to comply would also entail a penalty including cancellation of trading license. The order was passed following a verbal complaint by “a group of people stating that such signboards hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindu community,” the DA said.
The order from the district administration was indeed shocking as Arunachal is a completely tribal state and known to chow down and enjoy all kinds of meat and the question of a “certain section of community getting hurt” doesn’t arise. Ever since the BJP stormed to power at the Centre and whitewashed the majority of North Eastern states, it is increasingly obvious that several NE states including Arunachal are bending over backwards to appease majoritarian outside sentiments. Arunachal has had a ludicrous affair in this matter. Recently, a hoarding in the newly constructed underpass in the state capital which called Arunachal as the “Hindi capital of the NorthEast” drew much criticism forcing the authorities to reinstate the original sobriquet of “Land of Dawn-lit Mountains”. Majoritarian Hindu practice such as “Bhoomi Puja” has now become a routine part of Arunachal government protocol. In another incident the state’s chief minister and his cabinet colleagues attended the inauguration of a temple in the capital Itanagar recently.
The blurring line between politics and religion doesn’t augur well for a religiously tolerant Arunachal.
Arunachalees who are known to be fiercely defensive of their indigenous roots didn’t take well to this diktat and the administration had to roll back the ‘beef’ order by Friday evening. Though the order has been now kept in abeyance, the appeasing and subservient attitude of the state machinery to New Delhi is unsettling. As in this particular case, an aware citizenry is important to fend off any attack to the true secular fabric of the community.