What in India is pure vegetarian?

“The term ‘pure vegetarian’ originated about 150 years ago. Essentially, it signifies that the food is prepared and served by Brahmins, making it acceptable to everyone within the Indian caste system,” says archaeologist, historian and culinary anthropologist Kurush Dalal, “Food is very casteist in India. For Hindus, there’s a prescribed list of acceptable foods. Moreover, if prepared by Brahmins, it is deemed suitable for everyone. However, if prepared by Shudras, it’s considered acceptable only to them. Traditionally, most cooks, including Maharajs who cooked in people’s homes, as well as caterers, were Brahmins.”

Dismissing the concept of “pure vegetarianism” as a myth, political theorist, writer, and Dalit rights activist Kancha Ilaiah asks, “What’s pure? Is milk vegetarian? Are all milk products vegetarian? No. They are animal products. They are not coming from plants; they are coming from animals.” He explains, “The purity issue arose when doctors began prescribing eggs to malnourished children, stating there’s nothing spiritually wrong with consuming eggs.”

Ilaiah also critiques the terminology of ‘non-vegetarian’ for ‘meatarians’ (meat eaters) as incorrect. “Those who eat vegetables can call themselves vegetarians, but why are others labelled non-vegetarians? In Hindi, there are separate terms — shakahari and maasahari. It’s not non-shakahari or ashakahari. The same applies in Tamil and Telugu,” he says.

A 2022 analysis of National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data says that more people are consuming non-vegetarian food than ever before. As per NFHS-5, which was conducted in 2019-21, an overwhelming 83.4 per cent of men and 70.6 per cent of women in the 15-49 age group eat non-vegetarian food daily, weekly or occasionally. Despite the data highlighting that a significant percentage of people in our country consume meat, there persists an inaccurate belief that associates meat consumption with “lower” castes, and Muslims or Christians.

Food historian Pushpesh Pant criticises the term “pure vegetarian” as an “oxymoron and a wild goose chase”. According to him, once something is labelled vegetarian, adding “pure” becomes unnecessary and implies that non-vegetarians are somehow impure. “The concept of purity and pollution are really direct descendants and distortion in our mind bred by the caste system,” he says, adding that the term is not just about food but also reflects a climate of intolerance aiming to suppress diversity.

Many on social media also pointed to the efforts by social reformer Dr BR Ambedkar who played a pivotal role in highlighting the intricate connection between food and caste in Indian society. Ambedkar emphasised how caste-based dietary restrictions were used as tools of social exclusion and discrimination, with certain castes being restricted from consuming certain foods deemed “polluting” or “impure” by upper castes. “Pure and Impure = modern-day forms of casteism and religious segregation,” wrote author Nilanjana Roy on X.

The origins of vegetarianism, Dalal says, wasn’t until about 2,500 years ago. Contrary to common belief, it isn’t solely a Brahminical concept, which categorises food into satvik, rajasik or tamasik, but rather finds its roots in Jainism and Buddhism. “Both religions advocated ‘ahimsa’, meaning non-killing of animals. Jainism even objected to consuming vegetables growing under the ground,” he says.

In India, Dalal says, vegetarianism has displayed flexibility, with individuals from various communities adhering to it on specific days of the week. “Indians also follow lacto-vegetarianism. Milk and its products are sourced not from plants but from cows and buffaloes,” he adds.

Dalal also highlighted on social media platform X that technically, salt could be considered non-vegetarian because it contains foraminifera from the sea. “Himalayan sea salt appears pink due to the high concentration of dead marine animals resulting from the drying of the Tethys Sea,” he says.

Historians also note that various Brahmin communities across the country, from Kashmiri Brahmins to Saraswat Brahmins and Bengali Brahmins consume various forms of meat. “Brahmins in Eastern India consume fish and also meat if it comes as a “prasad” from a sacrifice made to a god or goddess. It is interesting to note that it will be cooked without onion and garlic, as is the practice among Brahmins,” says Dalal. He adds that only a small group of Brahmins across the country, including Iyers, Iyengars, Nambudiri and some communities in north India are vegetarians in that sense.

Calling vegetarianism a diet of privilege, Dalal emphasises the necessity for a wide array and quantity of food items to fulfil nutritional needs. “The protein or fat obtained from a small quantity of meat must be replaced with a larger quantity of vegetarian food. For example, the reason you see Brahmins and Marwadis adding a lot of ghee in their food in their meals is because their bodies require fat, typically derived from meat in non-vegetarian diets.”

In India, many restaurants serving vegetarian food label themselves as “pure vegetarian”. While this term may differentiate them abroad, where a vegetarian dish simply lacks meat pieces but may contain animal-derived stock, its meaning is clearer domestically.

“Vegetarianism is associated with the upper caste and class. The adoption of the term ‘pure vegetarian’ by restaurants aims to attract affluent upper-caste clientele. For example, vada pav in Mumbai is inherently vegetarian and accessible to all, yet you won’t find it labelled as ‘100 per cent pure vegetarian vada pav’,” says Dalal.