5 Reasons Why I’m Against The Mumbai Meat Ban

Very recently, leaders from BJP asked for a meat ban in some localities following some self sacrificial threats from Jain monks in Mumbai during the upcoming Jain religious festival - Paryushan.

I am a Jain, I follow Paryushan BUT I do not support the meat ban.

There are 5 reasons for it

1. People earn their daily bread by selling meat - what will they earn in these days? (Jain myth - never hurt someone else for your selfish motives)

2. My religious choices are my personal choices - this applies to people who are NOT jains as well. It is their personal choice. The Paryushan does not mean anything to people who are not Jains. Why impose some rules that mean nothing to them. These monks are just inviting criticism and skepticism to Jainism (as if there isn’t enough inside the community anyway).

3. Hell yes it’s political. The monks want to get more followers and the political leaders want more votes. The stringent and orthodox Jains who believe Jainism is THE ultimate religion are all going to be super pleased.

4. For lack of a properly formulated argument, the monks threatened to sacrifice themselves in the name of religion. For god’s sake, what is the difference between these monks and terrorists? If they threaten the population’s emotions to get their job done?

5. Lastly, why does it pain them to see meat hanging in shops only on these selected days of the year? Why create a fuss about it only for 4 days? The pain should be a continuous feature, right? The poor animals are cut and killed every single day of the year. Basically, they are trying to market the idea of ‘Paryushan’ - but hey, dear marketers - no one cares!

Such ‘stunts’ end up defaming a great religion and make it popular for idiosyncrasies created by the modern misconceptions of what Jainism (or religion for that matter) actually is!

Maybe it’s my education which liberates me from orthodoxies and my extensive reading of Jain texts which enhances my belief that Jainism isn’t only about Paryushan. Maybe it’s a surge of open mindedness and accepting of the fact that we are living a secular country which allows for the co-existance and tolerance of different religions.

I sincerely hope these religious authorities and the man behind instigating this meat ban get to read this.