Beef controversy a result of socio-political change in Eflu?—ToI – 5.5.11

Nikhila Henry | TNN

Hyderabad: Is the beef war raging in English and Foreign Languages University (Eflu) campus rooted in the changing caste composition of the varsity? While the controversy at the face of it seems to be about inclusion of beef in the mess menu, sociologists and political analysts say that the real problem is a growing resentment among certain caste groups against the increase in the number of dalit and BC students on the campus.
    According to faculty members of university, with the implementation of OBC reservation (22.5 per cent) and an increase in the number of dalit students taking admission even in the general category seats (about 6 per cent), other caste groups on campus seem to be nursing a grudge against the changing caste composition of the university. “The beef controversy only brought the fight out in the open,” they say.
    “Eflu till four years ago was just an institute (Centre for English and Foreign Languages) which did not have an integrated variety of students. And an elite, caste group used to be the face of this institute. But the change of the caste composition that happened soon after its conversion into a central university (2008) created a strong resentment among certain faculty and student members. This resentment, however, is not usually spoken about,” explained a faculty member of the university.
    However, with the beef controversy the divide is visible, he added. Currently, out of the 2,500 seats in the university over 56 per cent are from dalit and BC students. While some cited the emergence of a strong dalit group on campus for the reason for the beef controversy, political scientists said that the fight is not just about a resentment against reservation. In fact, a larger cultural battle is brewing in the background, analysts pointed out.
    “The university is going through a transitory period where certain traditional cultural forms including that of food culture are getting challenged and uprooted. Eating beef in public becomes a part of the assertion of dalit identity which is considered unholy by other castes,” said Prof G Haragopal, political scientist and faculty University of Hyderabad.
    Political scientists said that a discourse on food in the country, especially when centred around beef has larger implications. “Certain food items in the state are associated with certain caste groups. Beef is identified with SC/ST and some section of OBC castes,” explained Prof Kancha Iliah, political scientist, Osmania University.
    Sociologists said that Eflu’s beef feud could actually be a milestone in the dalit movement, where a food culture, less celebrated in society is trying to breach its way through established social norms in educational institutions.
    However, this is not the first time that such a challenge is being taken up by students. In 2005, in a similar incident, Dalit Students Association (DSU) of University of Hyderabad had established a beef stall on their campus during a cultural fest, Sukoon, a practice that has been repeated till date.