A remark by the renowned industrialist Adi Godrej on the contentious issues of beef ban and liquor prohibition evoked a mixed response from the Twitterati. Even a hashtag was made calling for ban on Godrej products.
The chairman of Godrej Group on Thursday in an interview with Indian Express spoke about the contentious issues of beef ban and liquor prohibition in some of the states in the country and how it affects the economy.
The industry tycoon said, “There is nothing against beef in our religion. It is a practice that evolved over years of drought, and the elders said don’t slaughter cows, preserve them for milk for children. That has turned into a religious belief. This is ridiculous. Vedic Indians were beef-eaters.”
Following these remarks, Twitter users showered him with both bouquets and brickbats. Here are some reactions:
@adigodrej , sir is it true that you are promoting beef eating! If yes, we will boycott Godrej products.
— Atal Behari Sharma (@AtalSharma) May 12, 2016
I have decided that From Now onwards , I will boycott all the products of #Godrej
— Rohit Mishra (@rohitmishra183) May 12, 2016
@adigodrej बेशुमार पैसा आ गया , ब्रांड बना लिया गोदरेज को। तो क्या लाइसेंस मिल गया धर्म संस्कृति पे चोट करने का? #boycottgodrejproducts
— Arun Arora (@im_arun) May 13, 2016
@adigodrej i m hindu and bought always hindu made products like bjaj godrej etc , @adigodrej is anti hindu,so i strt #boycottgodrejproducts
— Arun Arora (@im_arun) May 13, 2016
Hindus have been eating beef since Vedic era - Adi Godrej #BoycottGodrejProducts Insults to Hindus and Bharat Mata shud be dealt strongly
— Amitesh Kumar (@AmiteshK01) May 13, 2016
— #UttarPradesh #UP (@BJPLucknowBJP) May 12, 2016
While the pro-beef ban tweeps were very straightforward, the some of the ones supporting Godrej’s statements did it behind a veil of humour.
"Eh, Adi Godrej. Dare you question beef ban! GO BACK TO PAKISTAN!"
— Sorabh Pant (@hankypanty) May 12, 2016
"He's Parsi, sir."
"Go back to um, Iraq?"
"Iran, sir."
"GO BACK TO IRAN!"
Pause and listen - Adi Godrej articulates a wider unease with the proliferation of bans — on beef or alcohol https://t.co/MEkgeIRH02
— RGICS (@RGICS) May 13, 2016
this `anti-national' godrej, has a problem with beef-ban, prohibition https://t.co/t1P8tcvxyS
— Hartosh Singh Bal (@HartoshSinghBal) May 12, 2016
Vedic Indians were Beef eaters, nothing against Beef in Hinduism, ban hurting economy - Adi Godrej
— Gaurav Pandhi (@GauravPandhi) May 12, 2016
I agree with him https://t.co/iPhX67nJRJ
Since the Narendra Modi government came to power in May 2014, several states in the country had imposed beef ban like Haryana and Maharashtra.
Following the path of Gujarat, Nagaland, Manipur and Lakshwadeep, Bihar also adopted a complete ban on alcohol after Nitish Kumar became the CM for the fifth time. States like Kerala has also imposed a phase prohibition and plans to phase out alcohol completely in the next ten years. The situation is likely to be the same in Tamil Nadu with all the major political parties promising total prohibition if they are elected to power.
“There are certain things. Like, prohibition. In order to win elections and get women’s votes, some states are doing that. Bihar has brought prohibition. Kerala has brought prohibition. Prohibition is bad for the economy. It’s bad for social structure, for drinking doesn’t reduce. It gives rise to bad liquor, and then mafia. All over the world it has been unsuccessful. In America, it has been unsuccessful. In India, we tried prohibition, but we were unsuccessful.”
“All these negative directions for political gains can affect the economy. These (beef ban and prohibition) are the two main issues I see,” Godrej said. Asked if this distracts the government from the development agenda, he said, “These are bound to happen. We are a democracy. They have to win elections; they have to portray themselves in a certain way,” he added.