Hindutva's cultural nationalism and Hindi colonization of diverse Hindu cultures: Vegetarianism and Diwali in Aotearoa New Zealand
I woke up this morning to a story that appeared in Stuff, concocting a crisis that is supposedly brought about by the serving of non-vegetarian food at some Diwali events in Aotearoa NZ. Titled as "Non-vegetarian food served at some Diwali events sparks debate among Indian communities," it establishes as normative, through its assumptions, the notion of Diwali being a vegetarian religio-cultural event (this juxtaposition of religion and culture is critical, as I will unpack in the rest of this blog). On other digital platforms, the title reads as: 'My festival is being hijacked': Food divides NZ's Indian community. The headline is crafted to feed moral outrage around food, built around the practice of non-vegetarian food being served at some Diwali festivals in Aotearoa New Zealand. Monolithic frames and Hinduism's pluralism The article then leads in with, "Non-vegetarian food served during Diwali celebrations in Wellington has left some Hindu organisatio