Gujarati Colonists Misbehave In Bombay
Meat Eater? You Can't Live Here!
Strict Veg-Only Building Societies Ensure Non-Vegetarians Cannot Move In!
Mid-Day, 28th October 2003, Bombay edition.
Madhurima Nandy: If you think Bombay is the most cosmopolitan and accommodating Indian cit, think again. A new wave of vegetarians-only buildings are coming up across the metropolis, particularly in affluent areas like Bandra, Khar, Nana Chowk, Juhu Scheme and Teen Batti at Walkeshwar.
Many societies in these areas work hard to ensure only vegetarians are allowed to move in. Given the obvious discrimination involved, this is, naturally, a silent movement — there are no written rules forbidding non-vegetarians from buying homes there.
One such society is Madhu Park, an area between Linking Road and SV Road, Khar. It has long had a strict 'no non-vegetarian' policy; even the new buildings there stick to the tradition of keeping non-vegetarians away.
In Lakshmi Nagar Housing Society, Madhu Park, the parameters are even stricter — only vegetarian Gujaratis are allowed to live there.
Sunil Singh of Mayfair Housing, which is currently constructing three buildings in Madhu Park, said, "Even in these new buildings, we are not allowed to sell a single flat to a non-vegetarian. Vegetarians from other communities are also not allowed as they are not thought to be true vegetarians." Respect Thy Neighbour�s Choice of Food: When I was a kid, I had heard the story of an Arab taking his camel inside his tent and eventually the came threw him out of his own tent. The news about buildings open only for �Gujarati vegetarians� has shocked me. I really don�t mean to offend the vibrant Gujarati community but all I want to say is that just because the city has accepted you, does not mean you change the rules that govern the city. By discrimination on such grounds as Gujaratis and vegetarians, are we not destroying the concept of this �cosmopolitan� city? I am a staunch vegetarian myself. In straight words, if I were not a student, I would have definitely slapped a PIL (sued) against such �pseudo-veggies�. — Aditya Bengali, Vidyavihar. [Letters to the Editor, Mid-Day, 29/10/2003]
Hetal Shah, a resident of Rushabh Apartments near the Prarthna Samaj near Nana Chowk, said, "We cannot imagine someone cooking meat in the next flat. We don't even have any meat shop in the area."
Hatkesh Society at Juhu Scheme is another vegetarian zone. Most of the poeple who live here are Gujaratis and Rajasthanis, including Marwaris.
In south Bombay, this issue, once restricted to the Malabar Hill and Walkeshwar areas, has now spread to Bombay Central and Nana Chowk.
Real estate redeveloper Haresh Mehta, who is building three apartment blocks at Nana Chowk, said, �It is a new trend; people like to have like-minded neighbours. Old residents of redeveloped projects insisted we do not sell flats to non-vegetarians. Besides, any non-vegetarian would also feel uncomfortable.�
Bijal Vachharajani of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, PETA, a strong advocate of vegetarianism the world over, said the growing trend of going vegetarian is a good thing, �but it is stupid to discriminate in this respect and impose such parameters on buyers.�
Meanwhile, both builders and real estate agents say that the eastern suburbs (served by the Central Railways) have so far escaped this form of discrimination.
Apart from Ghatkopar, the eastern suburbs do not have any specific vegetarian zones.