In our country, alcohol consumption is viewed through a moral prism – it is never just a personal choice or a convivial social activity. It is viewed as a vice that destroys families and livelihoods. To be sure, drinking can and does destroy lives, but that is alcoholism and not alcohol per se. And in recent times, meat consumption has started to be seen via a moral prism as well: as being an immoral choice by vegetarians. We see a lot of this moral self-righteousness in my home state of Gujarat as this signage indicates.
Gujarat is the last bastion of alcohol prohibition. History has taught us that prohibition never works and in most Indian states, liquor sale and consumption are not prohibited. However, in Gujarat, prohibition is still a reality. It is also a place with a large percentage of vegetarians – particularly among the affluent parts of society. So it is perhaps only to be expected that the owner of this establishment has a “no alcohol, no meat and eggs” policy
As this tweet points out, this is just a matter of choice if an establishment decides not to serve meat and liquor; and also prohibits the consumption of these items.
As this tweet points out, what to sell and serve is a matter of choice and meat-eaters have a choice to go to other restaurants. As for the liquor ban, that is a matter of law.
A lot of vegetarians will refuse to eat in a restaurant or even a home where eggs/meat are cooked or consumed. So while it is easy to find veg dishes to eat even in a nonveg restaurant, the very proximity non-veg food is seen as a problem. There is a purity angle to food; which is why there is such a high demand for ‘pure veg’ places.
Many of the tweeple, even the vegetarian ones, pointed out that while there is statutory prohibition in place (while the illegal bootleg business flourishes) there is no need to prohibit non-veg food.
Gujarat has the dubious distinction of having some of the only ‘pure veg’ Pizza Huts and Dominos restaurants. Even egg-eaters find it difficult to source eggs – in Gujarat, kirana stores will not stock eggs, unlike grocery stores elsewhere.
In Gujarat it is common to find that people who eat eggs and meat will do so in secret, hiding the fact from their families. The problem here is the moral judgement that the establishment owner makes in declaring both activities as ‘sinful’ rather than just a statutory prohibition or matter of choice. Either the owner has very strong beliefs of their own or they are keen to do some virtue signalling to attract all those who want ‘pure veg’ places to eat and stay.
It may have been enough to just say “Drinking of liquor and eating non-veg food is strictly prohibited in his area.” Why add “as these are most sinful activities” - unless it was felt necessary to pronounce a moral judgement upon people who drink/eat eggs and meat?
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