Rishi Kapoor had a beef to pick with people who equated food with religion in India. A casual tweet by him has created an uproar on the microblogging site.
"I am being abused. My family is being abused. As if we are a family of cow-killing infidels. What nonsense!" he rants.
To recap the events leading to the controversy Rishi says, "I was shooting on Sunday 15 March at a five-star hotel. We took a break for lunch in the coffee shop where we had gone for buffet lunch, I suddenly see venison, kangaroo and lamb meat on offer… red meats of all kinds. I told my colleagues, "This is the effect of banning beef. They start killing other animals for meat. Never in my life have I seen venison, which is deer meat — the deer was dear to Bhagwan Shri Ram, we were told -- being served in any restaurant. And kangaroo meat in India???!!!'
Rishi then tweeted his thoughts on the matter. "I said something about the beef ban and suddenly the entire nation took off on me. You can't deny the fact that animals are cut for meat. Hindu organizations that have attacked me. They want me to be vegetarian. But I am not! And that's my choice."
Rishi doesn't deny being a beef-eater. "But I don't eat beef in India. I eat beef prepared from cattle bred for food. In the USA, England, Australia and New Zealand they breed cattle specially for meat. Not like us , In this country we do not breed cattle specially for meat-eating.I don't eat cow meat in India. Beef is not allowed me in my house. Ninety percent of my Hindu friends eat beef or beef products. But I am not killing my gau-maata to eat beef. Kissko samjhaoon main?"
The irate actor feels he is being targeted for no reason. "People have deliberately chosen to misconstrue my statements. Everybody is making up his own screenplay to attack me. My fans are mailing me to just ignore the attack, as it is normal practice to slam celebrities on Twitter."
But Rishi feels persecuted. "What wrong did I say? People have simply chosen to twist my words. They are abusing me and my family. If our Hindu culture forbids beef meat does the same culture give you the right to abuse me and my family just because I have an opinion that you don't agree with? Is that our culture? If by banning beef the restaurants are going to find alternative meat, then what is the point? What about fish farming that occupies so much of our work force close to the sea? Should we stop eating fish as well? I repeat, I don't eat beef in India. We don't breed cattle meat here. We revere the cow, and there was a scientific reason for that reverence. Cows give us milk, curd, ploughed our land…. Likewise, pig meat is avoided in some areas as it is unhygienic."
He feels the choice of being a vegetarian or otherwise is entirely personal. "Please do not equate food with religion. I believe it's not my khaana but my karma that makes me a good human being. All these rules of living are man-made. I respect these religious rules. I am a true God-fearing Hindu. We got Ganpati at our home yesterday. We celebrate Holi and Diwali. Nonetheless, I have every right to have my opinion. Don't try to shout me down just because you have another point of view."
Rishi says his voice won't be silenced. "I am not advocating beef-eating. But I am advocating a freedom to have an opinion and a voice."
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