New Delhi: A Malayali cultural organisation based in Frankfurt has alleged that it was asked to remove a beef curry from its menu for a food festival by the Consulate General of India.
The Kerala Samajam Frankfurt, which identifies itself as a cultural organisation catering to the needs of the Malayali diaspora living in and around Frankfurt, claimed in a Facebook post that after “people with vested interests” raised objections against the menu and “threatened to make ruckus during the event”, the Consulate General of India in Frankfurt requested the organisation to “revise” their menu so that “the event could be held without any incidents”.
The post further went on to say that as a “responsible cultural organisation”, it decided to comply with the consul’s request.
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The menu in question for a food festival called the “Indien Fest“, held on August 31, included parotta and beef curry. The Kerala Samajam Frankfurt claimed that it had “prepared the menu based on the common food interests of Kerala” as all groups were asked to present the common delicacies of each state with a restriction only on alcohol.
According to a report in the Kerala Kaumudi, after several people demanded the closure of the stall, the German police, which was asked to intervene, said that Germany did not forbid anyone from eating what they like. The New Indian Express, however, reported that the police was not involved.
The menu for the Indien Fest 2019 published by the
Kerala Samajam Frankfurt. Photo: Kerala Samajam Frankfurt/Facebook
A news report in India Today claimed that it was certain right-wing Hindu organisations from north India who had raised objections over the menu while the New Indian Express reported that members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had objected to the menu.
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The New Indian Express report also claimed that certain Samajam members boycotted the event after the beef curry was removed and protested using placards of unity in diversity and freedom for food.
Days before the food festival, a change.org petition called to “stop the sale of beef in personal cultural space of Indians” and claimed that “Beef is definitely NOT Indian”.
In a Facebook post later, the Consulate General claimed that the event witnessed participation from close to 20,000 people