‘Food has no religion. It is religion’, tweeted food-delivery app Zomato in response to a customer’s tweet last week. Amit Shukla, a customer from Uttar Pradesh cancelled his order after the food-delivery app assigned a non-Hindu rider. Amit’s tweet received angry responses from many users who accused him of religious discrimination. Orissa POST spoke to a few women, who echo the sentiments of Zomato and are against religious discrimination.
Juvenile Justice Board commissioner Namrata Chaddha, who was also the chairperson of State Commission of Women, says, “Everyone has religion freedom but in this case, I believe the customer’s tweet was meant for creating a sensation on social media. We should not share out thoughts randomly because it may hurt someone’s religious sentiments. When I was with the State Commission of Women, I would often meet women from the minority, who came seeking justice. I have never enquired about their religion. For me, they were all victims and it had nothing to do with religion. Religious practice is an individual choice and it shouldn’t be mixed with profession. I have no reservations when it comes to employing house helps or cooks at home from other religion.”
Soumya Mishra, a homemaker from Puri, says, “Although religion means a lot to me, I believe in humanity. I live in a joint family and we take help of paid hands to maintain the house. A woman worked with us. We didn’t ask her about her religion when she joined us. Later, we came to know that she was a Christian. That didn’t make any difference to me. However, my in-laws had some reservations. Being Brahmins and devotees of Lord Jagannath, they asked me to discontinue her service. I tried my best to change their mind but failed. I felt bad about the incident as I believe we all should have one religion which is humanity.”
Bhadrak-based homemaker Sumitra Das Pallai says, “I noticed Gelhi (name changed) when I came to this house after marriage. She is a Muslim but it was difficult to differentiate her from any other Odia (Hindu) women. When my mother-in-law disclosed her identity to me, I was taken aback. I asked her if it was fine to have a domestic help from other community. Her response was epic. ‘When Lord Jagannath doesn’t discriminate between religions, who are we?’ she said. She gave the example of Bhakta Salabega, who was an ardent devotee of the Lord. That is why people irrespective of caste, religion and colour worship the Lord. There is nothing wrong in employing non-Hindu house helps. My mother-in-law considers Gelhi a part the family.”
Baisakhi Hazra, a homemaker from Cuttack, says, “Our housemaid comes from a minority community and she has been with us for nearly a decade. It’s only recently that I asked her to stop working as she couldn’t continue owing to old age. Otherwise, none from my family ever had an issue with her religion. Sometimes, neighbours irritated me saying, ‘How can you employ a maid from other religion when you are a Brahmin. You will not get salvation because you are drinking water provided by her.’ However, I did not pay heed to what they said.”
RASHMI REKHA DAS, OP