IIT Madras students hold beef fest on campus

Students at IIT Madras held a beef festival inside the campus to protest against a central government rule that bans the sale of cows for slaughter at animal markets.

The protest on Sunday evening saw 70-80 students and food was brought from outside to be distributed to the participants.

Students said it was a spontaneous gesture from many people in campus who opposed the notification and not held under any banner. “It is a democratic right of ours to have a choice of food,” said Abhinav Surya, a final year student.

This comes amid a raging nationwide debate over consumption of beef. States such as Kerala — where beef is a part of the daily diet — have said they will defy the Centre’s rule on cow slaughter and many have blamed the BJP of trying to infringe on personal rights and food habits. Similar beef fests in Kerala landed in controversy after a calf was slaughtered in public.

“There was no planning or anything. The idea was tossed around afternoon, and we asked all students to felt about the ban on cow slaughter to participate in the protest,” Abhinav added.

IIT authorities haven’t taken any action against the students. “There have been condemnation of our protest by some right-wing student body representatives. Some Facebook posts have have derided us and our freedom to choose what we eat,” he said.

This comes amid a raging nationwide debate over consumption of beef. States such as Kerala — where beef is a part of the daily diet — have said they will defy the Centre’s rule on cow slaughter and many have accused the BJP of trying to infringe upon rights of people.