Arunachal Pradesh official bans writing "beef" on restaurant signboards

Hotel and restaurant owners in Naharlagun sub-division of BJP-ruled Arunachal Pradesh have been asked to remove signboards and hoardings with the word “beef” written on them “to continue the spirit of secularism and brotherhood within the community.”

Tamo Dada, the Executive Magistrate of Naharlagun, issuing a notice to this effect, today said that failure to remove the “beef” from signboards will incur a fine of Rs 2,000.

“District administration of ICR believes in the secular spirit of our Indian constitution but such open display of word beef on the signboards of such hotels and restaurants may hurt the sentiments of some sections of the community and may create animosity between different groups of community,” Tamo Dada stated in his communique.

Hindus believe that the cow is representative of divine and natural beneficence and should therefore be protected.

Notably, this directive has been issued by Arunachal months after Assam, its neighbour to the East, passed a bill to protect the bovine animal. The new legislation prohibits the sale and purchase of beef in areas inhabited by non-beef eating communities and within a 5-km radius of a temple or a satra (as Vaishnavite monasteries are called).

As per the 2011 status, Hindus make up 29.04% of the population in Arunachal which is second only to Christianity (30.26%).