News Desk |
Indian police reproached a Hindu customer and warned him of serious action for his discriminatory act of refusing to accept food from a Muslim delivery boy.
A bigot Hindu customer, Amit Shukla, from Madhya Pradesh took to Twitter on late Tuesday night and stated he cancelled the food delivery from Zomato because a ‘non-Hindu’ delivered his food.
Zomato’s Reaction
Unfazed by the customer’s complaint Zomato, a popular food application in India refused to succumb to his demand for replacing the rider. The food application stated that will not replace the rider merely based on his religion. The food application schooled the customer in a statement that garnered a widespread appreciation from across India.
Zomato shut down an act of bigotry in a statement, “Food doesn’t have a religion. It is a religion,” to the customer that accumulated 80,000 likes on Twitter.
Jabalpur Police Superintendent Amit Singh said his behaviour “goes against the constitution and creates discord between communities.”
The customer care executive responded that cancelling the order would cost him additional charges, and then said, “At Zomato, we don’t discriminate on basis of riders, I hope you understand.”
Meanwhile, Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal weighed in on the Twitter fiasco. Goyal appreciated his company for standing up to the moral value of religious equality set at the forefront of the company’s structure.
“We aren’t sorry to lose any business that comes in the way of our values,” he said in his tweet.
We are proud of the idea of India – and the diversity of our esteemed customers and partners. We aren’t sorry to lose any business that comes in the way of our values. 🇮🇳 https://t.co/cgSIW2ow9B
— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) July 31, 2019
Indian Police Reacted
Jabalpur Police slamming the customer described his act unconstitutional and the breach of the good behaviour bond and slapped him with the fine of INR100,000 ($1,450), warning him that the second attempt of his contemptuous behaviour will land him in jail for up to six months imprisonment.
Read more: Indians Twitter-roast a Hindu who voiced Muslim hate
Jabalpur Police Superintendent Amit Singh said his behaviour “goes against the constitution and creates discord between communities.”
Shukla further said he would take up the issue with his lawyers.
The Code of Criminal Procedure grants Indian security officials to take action for different reasons including when they deem a person could sow public discord with their actions. India is a secular state with a strong emphasis on equality and fraternity in its constitution.
The Zomato driver, named only as Faiyaz, told he was ‘hurt’ by customer’s reaction.
Social Media Fiasco
Shukla’s tweet garnered angry reactions from the Indian twitter users, with one user pointing that if Shukla has ensured the person who cooked his food was a Hindu.
Many, however, praised the stern response of Zomato CEO Goyal. Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah tweeted, “Salute Deepinder Goyal! You are the real face of India! Proud of you.”
They blame Prime Minister Narendra Modi for inciting religious intolerance in India, Muslim communities are the prime target of Hindu extremist.
Whereas, the advocates of Hindu nationalism, ignited a campaign of Boycott Zomato on social media. The participants of this trend censured Zomato for siding with a religious minority while disrespecting the values of Hinduism, a dominant religion in India.
They cited examples when Zomato entertained its Muslims customers for not accepting food for not being ‘Halal’. A user shared the snapshot of Zomato assuring a Muslim customer for replacing his food after he complained his food was not ‘Halal’.
In another scornful remark, an Indian Twitter user asked Zomato to make its Muslim customers eat pork since ‘food has no religion’ (pork is forbidden in Islam).
Religious Extremism in India
The Hindu nationalism and religious extremism are surging in India, this deadly combination is marking the country unsafe for the minorities day by day. The observers have attributed it to the hold of a Hindu nationalist party BJP at the center. They blame Prime Minister Narendra Modi for inciting religious intolerance in India, Muslim communities are the prime target of Hindu extremist, the community has been under constant persecution since 2014.
Read more: America accuses India of religious extremism and anti-Muslim policies
Multiple cases of Hindu extremists torturing, to the extent of lynching and physically assaulting the Muslim citizens have flashed on social media in recent years. The sane voices within India have made several calls to the government, pressing them to curb the menace of religious extremism, fearing that if left uncontrolled it will wreck India’s image of a secular nation.