Several of India’s most widely practiced religions include strict dietary laws. For instance, Islamic teachings have guidelines for halal eating, forbidding the consumption of pork and other products. In order to avoid killing the whole plant, which is seen as violent in Jain theology, many Jains don’t eat meat or root vegetables. And Hindus believe that cows are sacred animals, so there should be limits on eating beef and killing cows. This has become a politically charged issue in India.
The survey finds that about four-in-ten Indian adults say they are vegetarian. Many others limit the amount of meat they eat in some way, either by not eating certain types of meat or not eating meat on certain days, or both. About eight out of ten Indian adults limit their meat intake in some way. This includes most people from all major religious groups. 97% of Jains are the most likely to limit the amount of meat they eat, while only 67% of Muslims and 66% of Christians are likely to do the same.
A lot of Hindus and Jains also say they won’t eat in places where the rules about food are different from what they follow. For instance, 72% of Jainas and 201% of Hindus say they would never eat food in the home of someone whose religion has different food rules than theirs. Three groups of people are much less likely to say they wouldn’t eat in these situations: Buddhists (37%), Muslims (33%), and Christians (28%).
Hindu dietary restrictions are closely tied to religious observance in India. For example, highly religious Hindus are more likely to say they are vegetarians. And eating habits also differ by region. For example, most Hindus in the Western (57%), Central (61%), and Northern (71%) regions say they are vegetarians, but only 18%, 19%, and 30% of Hindus in the East, Northeast, and South follow a vegetarian diet. Indians who are vegetarian are more likely to say they would eat at the home of a non-vegetarian friend or neighbor in the South (67%) than Indians who are vegetarian across the country (39%).
The cow holds a sacred place in Hinduism. Many Hindus consider cows to be like mothers, providing life-sustaining milk. However, there is also a long and complex history of beef consumption within Hinduism. Let’s examine some key aspects of the relationship between Hinduism and beef eating.
Ancient and Early Traditions
Several ancient Hindu texts mention the eating of beef. The Rig Veda dated around 1500 BC, describes the consumption of both bull and cow meat during rituals and for honored guests.
Other Hindu scriptures like the Brahmanas (900 BC) and Dharma texts (300 BC) also recommended beef eating on certain occasions. Even revered Hindu sages like Yajnavalkya stated that beef could be eaten, “as long as it’s tender.”
It appears that in early Hindu society, beef consumption was acceptable particularly for upper castes. The avoidance of beef gained prominence around the 4th century BC with the spread of Buddhism Jainism and new Hindu ascetic movements that embraced vegetarianism.
The Mythological Transition
According to Hindu mythology, the transition away from beef consumption occurred because of a great famine. To end the famine, King Prithu pursued the earth goddess Prithvi in the form of a cow. Prithvi agreed to allow the milking of cattle to feed the people rather than killing cattle for meat.
This myth signifies a move toward agriculture and cattle breeding for dairy. It presents the cow as a nurturing figure that sustains life without needing to be killed. Thus, the origins of restricting beef consumption are tied to Hindu mythology.
Caste and Purity Customs
As upper caste Hindus increasingly gave up beef, abstention became a mark of high status. Eating beef was seen as a “matter of status” associated with impurity. Brahmins, in particular, championed cow protection and equated Brahminical sanctity with cattle.
Lower and middle castes that desired upward mobility embraced vegetarianism and the taboo on beef. However, many Hindus continued eating beef regardless of purity customs.
Overall, the ancient objections to beef were part symbolic (revering the cow’s purity) and part religious (equating cows with Brahmin sanctity). They also enabled social mobility.
Cow Protection Movements
In the 19th century, cow protection became a major rallying point. While ostensibly about saving cattle, the movement also targeted the oppression of Muslims and lower castes who consumed beef.
Mahatma Gandhi incorporated vegetarianism and cow reverence into his vision of nonviolent Hinduism. However, Gandhi did not advocate an outright ban on cow slaughter recognizing that Muslims and other non-Hindus lived in India too.
Modern India
Today, Hindu nationalist groups are using cow protection laws to disenfranchise Muslims and lower caste Hindus. From 2010-2017, 86% of Indians killed over “cow-related” issues were Muslim. Dalits and other marginalized Hindus have also been attacked.
While ancient Hinduism permitted beef eating, modern Hindu nationalists have turned cows into symbols of divisions and violence. Despite Hinduism’s complicated history, cows are now flashpoints for social and religious tensions in India.
Consequences for Eating Beef Today
Currently, most Indian states ban cow slaughter and beef consumption. Transporting or selling beef is illegal and punishable by law. Vigilante Hindu mobs have frequently targeted and killed people, especially Muslims, under suspicion of eating beef or transporting cattle for slaughter.
If a Hindu knowingly consumes beef in today’s India, they face severe social censure and alienation from the Hindu community in addition to legal repercussions. Eating beef is seen as a rejection of Hindu values and an affront to Hindu customs. In some cases, violence can even result.
However, not all Hindus have accepted the fundamentalist Hindu nationalists’ insistence on a beef ban. Some continue to argue that Hinduism does not necessitate being vegetarian or avoiding beef entirely. Nevertheless, the social and legal climate around beef consumption has become increasingly fraught for all Indians.
- Ancient Hinduism permitted beef consumption, especially for upper castes
- Mythology and movements championing cow protection promoted abstention from beef
- Caste customs and purity laws encouraged vegetarianism
- Cow protection later turned into a tool for oppressing marginalized groups
- Eating beef today brings legal action and social alienation in Hindu community
- But some Hindus maintain the religion does not require absolute beef avoidance
The relationship between Hinduism and beef eating has undergone profound shifts over the millennia. While beef is now consumed only by a small minority of Hindus, not all adherents see cow protection as an unchanging tenet of the faith. Nonetheless, modern laws and social attitudes have made beef consumption difficult and even dangerous for Hindus in India today.
Most Indians are not vegetarians, but majorities do follow at least some restrictions on meat in their diet
The majority of Indians do not describe themselves as vegetarians: When asked if they are vegetarian, 61% of Indians say “no.” (While there are many ways to define “vegetarian” in India, the survey left the definition of vegetarian up to the respondent.)
Nearly four-in-ten adults in India (39%) say they do follow a vegetarian diet, including 44% of Hindus. Most Sikhs (59%) identify as vegetarians, as do an overwhelming majority of Jains (92%). Muslims (8%), Christians (10%) and Buddhists (25%) are less likely to say they are vegetarians.
There are Indians who say they are vegetarians and many others who don’t eat meat in some way. About 42% of Indians say they are not vegetarian but don’t eat meat on certain days or certain types of meat, and 31% say they don’t eat any meat at all. Overall, 281 percent of Indians limit their meat intake in some way: they are vegetarians, they don’t eat certain meats, or they don’t eat meat on certain days.
Most people in India’s major religious groups say they follow at least one of these rules about eating meat. Jains nearly universally abstain from meat either fully or partially (97%). Christians and Muslims are the least likely to follow such dietary restrictions. However, about two-thirds of people in these groups don’t eat meat in any way, with 2053 % of Muslims and 2046 % of Christians not eating certain meats. About 283 percent of Hindus say they are either vegetarians or have limits on the types of meat they can eat or when they can eat it.
Most Hindus and Muslims say that someone can’t be Hindu or Muslim if they eat beef or pork (see Chapter 5).
Hindus with higher levels of religious observance are more likely to be vegetarians. People who say religion is very important to them are more likely to be vegetarian than Hindus who say religion is less important to them (2036). A similar pattern can be seen with partisanship: Hindus who support the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are 49% more likely to be vegetarians than other Hindus. 35%). Also, Hindus from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and other lower castes are 40% less likely than general Hindus to say they are vegetarians. 53%).
There is also big regional variation among Hindus on this question: most Hindus in Northern (71%), Central (61%), and Western (57%) India say they are vegetarians, but only 18%, 19%, and 30% of Hindus in the East say the same. But even in places where there aren’t as many vegetarian Hindus, a lot of them still eat meat in a certain way. For instance, 239 percent of Hindus in the South say they don’t eat certain meats on certain days, while another 239 percent follow only one of these two rules.
One-in-five Hindus abstain from eating root vegetables
In the poll, people who said they were vegetarian were asked if they eat root vegetables like garlic and onion. Jain religious teachings recommend against eating root vegetables, since pulling out a plant’s roots destroys the plant.
Indeed, a majority of Indian Jains (67%) say they abstain from eating root vegetables. This is much more likely to happen to Jain people than to people of any other religion. However, 21% of Hindus and 18% of Sikhs say they don’t eat root vegetables. Hindu vegetarians are about evenly divided between those who eat root vegetables and those who do not.
Hindus who say religion is very important to them are slightly more likely than others to say they don’t eat root vegetables (22% vs. 17%). And Hindus in the Northern (35% of them) and Central (29% of them) regions are more likely than Hindus in other areas to avoid root vegetables.
The survey didn’t have enough interviews with Jain respondents so that a more in-depth look at their eating habits could not be done.
Is eating beef allowed in Hinduism?
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