Some stories that trend on social media tend to appear minor or inconsequential, but they reveal a lot about our social fabric, belief systems and essential humanity. The recent controversy involving a Zomato delivery person has become just such a leitmotif of our times. It has revealed much that is good within the Indian belief system, but also much that isn’t.
A man with the Twitter handle Pt Amit Shukla@NaMo_SARKAAR tweeted to say that he had cancelled an order with the food delivery service Zomato. The reason for cancelling the order was that the delivery person was Muslim and he did not want to receive his food from a Muslim during the month of Shravan. The Twitter account of the man whose tweet started the whole controversy has since disappeared. He appears to have deactivated his account.
In reply, Zomato stood by their delivery person and tweeted that “Food doesn’t have a religion. It is a religion.” They also issued a statement to clarify their stance. Company CEO Deepinder Goyal tweeted: “We are proud of the idea of India - and the diversity of our esteemed customers and partners. We aren’t sorry to lose any business that comes in the way of our values.” The tweeple in general as well as a lot of celebs and social media influencers expressed their appreciation and tweeted ‘Respect’ in reply to Goyal and Zomato’s stance.
Soon hashtags such as #IdeaOfIndia and others in support of Zomato were trending. Even a competitor of Zomato, another food delivery service – Uber Eats tweeted their support for Zomato. Zomato responded with hug emoji. It was a heartwarming Twitter moment when two competitors expressed mutual respect on a matter of a principled stance against bigotry.
But then came the backlash. People started to post a virulent stream of tweets against Zomato and in support of the man who cancelled his order because of the delivery person being a Muslim. Hashtags such as #UninstallZomato, #IStandWithAmit and even #UnintallUberEats (for their support) were trending. People were also rating the Zomato app on the play store; giving it the lowest (1 star) rating possible.
The reason given for this? The fact that Zomato serves halal meat to Muslims and that when non-halal meat was served by mistake, they apologised to a Muslim customer. This was seen as Zomato’s ‘hypocrisy’. In the fray were added various tweets about Islamic terror, foiled terror plots all over the world and other hateful comments against Islam and Muslims in general.
Soon discussions about ‘halal’ and ‘jhatka’ methods of animal slaughter also started. Staunch Muslims are particular about eating only halal meat, whereas there are some Hindus and Sikhs who do not eat halal and have only jhatka meat. People demanded that Zomato should not have a category for halal meat if they weren't serving a jhatka category.
Zomato issued a clarification that they not only had tagged categories such as ‘halal food’ but also ‘Jain food’, ‘Vegan food’, ‘Navrata Thalis’ etc. so that people could make choices based on their beliefs. Such tagging is based on requests and requirements of customers and upon food chains and associations that have organised themselves to fulfill such requirements.
It may seem like a tempest in a teacup, but I was dismayed at what I learned about my fellow Indians from this episode. Firstly I learned that there is a great deal of resentment among people, for a perceived injustice done to them by everyone: rulers of ancient India, governments, organisations, service providers, everyone (because all these somehow became a part of the narrative). There is a great sense of victimhood and grievance.
Secondly, it is worrying that so many people cannot see the difference between people making a food choice and a man discriminating against a human being for their religion. To find any reason to support the actions of an openly bigoted person is itself bigotry. The fact that so many used whataboutery and false equivalencies to justify that bigotry are, to me, very saddening.
Give a hearing to some of the delivery men from Swiggy and Zomato – guys who work hard for the money they earn – working long hours in difficult conditions. They have to take a lot of crap from rude and demanding customers without having to bear the added burden of customers taking objection to their religion.
India is a country of festivals and we traditionally celebrate together regardless of religious belief. There are Hindus who sing songs in praise of Allah and Muslims to craft idols of Ganesh and Durga. Isn’t this the idea of India we should be celebrating and preserving rather than cavilling and carping about the petty and the inconsequential? Also, shouldn't we all be speaking out in one voice against bigotry rather than trying to find excuses for it or attacking those who take a stand against it?
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