Right-wing Hindu activists clash with Dalit students at beef-eating party.
A clash broke out during a beef-eating festival at an Indian university, where Hindu activists fought with the Dalit students who organised the event.
Tear gas was thrown by police officers to break up the fight, in which at least five people were injured and two vehicles were set alight at the Osmania University in the city of Hyderabad.
Beef biryani was one of the beef dishes served to the 200 attendees, when 50 students from a right-wing Hindu group gate crashed the event.
“The organisers told us that they were not going to cook beef on the campus but were only bringing in cooked food from outside,” a senior officer told AFP.
“There was some stone-pelting forcing us to throw tear gas shells to bring the situation under control.”
The event was the first of its kind and was organised to encourage beef to be included in the menus at the student accommodation.
“It is unfortunate that people who consume beef are looked down upon by the upper castes, but for centuries beef has been part of our diet,” B. Sudarshan, a Dalit research scholar and festival organiser, told AFP.
“What is wrong in consuming beef? Those opposed to it can advise people not to have beef but they can’t force their diktat on us.”
Hindus, who make up the majority in India, consider cows to be sacred and the animals are often used in temple ceremonies.
Some Dalit groups, who are considered to be the lowest of the low castes, reject Hindu religious practices, particularly the ban on beef consumption.
