Non-veg food to be added to school art festival's menu next year: Kerala minister

Both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes will be served at the state-level school art festival in Kerala from next year onwards. This was stated by General Education Minister V Sivankutty against the backdrop of a controversy among certain quarters protesting that the all-vegetarian menu served for the festival smacks of an upper caste “Brahmanical hegemony”.

“Both types of delicacies will be included in the menu next year. For this, changes will be made in the festival manual, if necessary,” the minister has said.

The social media was abuzz on Thursday after certain prominent handles raked up the issue of choice of food for school students, alleging “Brahmanical hegemony”.

Also read: Veg or non-veg? Debate on Kerala Youth Festival menu rages on social media

‘Unwanted’ controversy

Sivankutty had rubbished the charges and said the debate was totally “unwanted”.

The minister said the same sort of vegetarian food was being served for the youth festival for the past 60 years in the state and there was no controversy.

For decades, vegetarian delicacies have been served among participating children, their teachers and parents at the food pavilions of the annual gala, known for its massive participation of children.

Sivankutty, when he met the reporters on Thursday at the festival venue, had said thousands of people enjoyed the food being served at the festival.

“Some 30,000 people were served food on the first day of the festival while the second day saw around 40,000 people relishing the food. It’s like a festival and the government will give food to anyone who reaches the counter,” he said.

Practical problems

Sivankutty said the state government was not adamant that meat should be kept out of the state youth festival. “But there are practical issues of preparing huge quantities of non-vegetarian dishes to serve such a massive number of people,” he said.

Besides breakfast, lunch and dinner, snacks and tea along with desserts are also provided at the food pavilions of the youth festival.

The controversy over not including non-vegetarian delicacies in the menu erupted after some netizens questioned the years-long practice of serving only vegetarian items during the festival, triggering intense exchange of views in and outside social media platforms.

A Facebook user had charged that the “vegetarian only” menu in the festival was part of “vegetarian fundamentalism” and a “reflection of caste belief”.

Social media debate

Citing the eminent culinary expert Pazhayidam Mohanan Namboothiri, a Brahmin, helming the catering team, another person had lamented through a Facebook post that the presence of Brahmins in the kitchens of art festivals was the “commemoration of the surrender of renaissance and democratic values at the feet of Brahmanism”.

Also read: Food poisoning: Kerala orders inspection of all eateries in state

However, several online users harshly criticised the debate as an attempt to give religious colour to food and to create division in society.

Reacting to the criticism and the social media debate, Namboothiri had said the vegetarian dishes were not his choice but he was acting as directed by the government.

(With Agency inputs)