'Brahmin' Eateries in Bengaluru Spark Twitter Debate Over 'Casteism' in India

A Twitter user going by @peeleraja shared photos of restaurants and cafes in Bengaluru using the prefix “Brahmin" in their names, available on food delivery platforms Zomato and Swiggy. Most Indian societies are deeply casteist and the branding of restaurants with a caste name started a debate on the microblogging platform, with opinions differing as to whether or not the tag for the restaurants was meant to be a caste signal. As these subjects often tend to do on social media, there was controversy over the matter.

The Twitter user who shared the photos of the eateries also shared their experience of casteism as a child in school. They pointed out: “There is no one specific Brahmin cuisine. There are Brahmins across the subcontinent with varying cuisines including fish and meat. There is no one Brahmin way of garnishing your food. When you call your eatery “Brahmin", it is a plain and simple caste signal and nothing else."

The eateries included ones named Brahmin’s Thatte Idli, Brahmin’s Express, Amma’s Brahmin Cafe, Brahmin Tiffins & Coffee, among others on Zomato. There were scores of others, including those on Swiggy like Brahmin’s Upahar, Brahmin’s Special Puliogare, Brahmin’s Kitchen among others.

In a similar instance back in 2018, a Bengaluru-based catering establishment started publicizing a pure Brahmin lunch box service. Lawyer and activist Dr. B Karthik Navayana had posted an image of a banner advertising ‘pure Brahmin lunch box service’ on micro-blogging site Twitter.

The advertisement stated that it would deliver freshly-made ‘Pure Brahmin’ food expressly to the doorsteps of interested customers in several areas of Bengaluru including JP Nagar & BTM Layout, Puttenahalli, Bilekahalli and surrounding areas.

The service was not the first of its kind to be available on the market.

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