Guwahati: The Executive Magistrate of Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh has mandated that all restaurants in the city should remove the word “beef” due to religious reasons.
According to the magistrate’s order, although the district administration of Itanagar Capital Region adheres to the secular spirit of the Indian Constitution, the open display of the word “beef” on hotel and restaurant signboards may offend some members of the community and foster hostility between various groups.
The extra assistant commissioner (EAC) of Naharlagun town, Tamo Dada, on Thursday clarified the now-viral order directing all hotels and restaurants to remove signboards with the word “beef” on them. He said the order was issued by his office as a “preventive measure so that the people do not make a religious issue out of it in the future.”
A verbal complaint was received from “a number of persons indicating that such signboards offend the religious emotions of the Hindu community,” Dada stated, adding that “the public should not get confused with the order as there is no restriction on the consumption of beef.”
Dada withheld any information about the “group of people” that brought the complaint, though.
However, he refuted any affiliation between the complainants and a fundamentalist political or religious movement.
“Beef is not consumed by Hindus since it is forbidden by their faith, and they also view cows as precious symbols of life that should be revered and conserved. Furthermore, hotels and restaurants will not openly display beef signboards while serving the meat wherever in the nation, Dada claimed.
He further added that hotel and restaurant operators may use other phrases or their names to make it clear that they sell beef without offending people’s religious beliefs.
