Gandhi & The Politics of Curry

Now, an Aussie takeaway shop serving Indian cuisine, Handi Ghandi, may be a little naughty in using the venerable Mahatma ‘Mohandas’ Gandhi’s name to sell food offensive to Hindus, notwithstanding the observation that the shop has spelt 'Gandhi' wrongly – a fairly common western error in spelling Gandhi’s name.

Tushar Gandhi, the great man’s great-grandson and head of the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation based in Bombay, said that it was blasphemous to use his vegetarian ancestor’s name to sell, of all things, beef curry.

Beef is of course taboo to any self respecting Hindu, though the great man himself confessed to a cheeky curiosity once – he tried beef curry just to experience what the B-word tasted like. That's what make Gandhi endearing - his truthfulness, lack of hypocrisy and humanism.

Hindus believe that God gave the cow to the human race for its milk and help in agricultural activities. Many Hindus regard the cow animal as a spiritual mother. There had been riots in India with several hundreds and even thousands of people killed, because of the incited perceptions that non-Hindus had slaughtered cows, or deceived Hindus into the partaking of beef, as was the case in the historical Sepoy Mutiny.

Thus, before India decides to invade Australia, why not change the shop’s name to Patel's Papadum which can then carry the advertising boast of At Least My Curries Won’t Kill You!