At a time when a nation-wide debate is going on over the ban on beef, a district collector in Telangana raised many eyebrows after he openly advocated consumption of beef. A. Murali, collector of Bhoopalapally, said that the “dirty Brahminical culture” of beef ban was adversely affecting the health of the poor in rural areas.
Addressing a gathering at Eturu Nagaram, a tribal dominated village, on the World Tuberculosis Day on Friday, Murali remarked that the dalits had become physically weak and under-nourished after being forced to stop consuming beef.
He even urged people to hunt wild boars and eat them, and assured them that they would not be booked for killing wild boars for meat. Taking a jibe at various religious vows like “Ayyappa Maala Deeksha”, Murali said, "After taking these stupid religious vows, people refrain from eating beef and meat. People are taking vows in the name of various gods. All this is waste. I ask the people of our community (dalits) to continue eating beef.”
The collector said that some people had complained to him that they were not allowed to eat beef due to restrictions. He assured them that they could eat whatever they wanted to. Beef was the staple food of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and the ban was affecting their health, he added.
“This is a fact. Eating of beef has been our culture for centuries. We can eat whatever we have been eating to be healthy and fit,” he said.
“I was told that wild boars are destroying crops in tribal areas. But I am telling you, you can kill these boars and pigs and happily eat their meat. There is no ban on killing wild boars, and the forest department has permitted it. In fact, wild boar meat is a very popular dish in western countries,” the collector said at the meeting.
Murali's remarks have drawn sharp reaction from the BJP which demanded his suspension for “hurting” the sentiments of Hindus, particularly the Brahmins.
The officer later apologised for using the word "Brahminical". “I was only advocating consumption of protein-rich food to keep away diseases like TB,” he said.
