MUMBAI: On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti (October 2), People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has written to the state chief minister, Eknath Shinde, requesting that South Mumbai’s Mutton Street be renamed “Ahimsa Marg” as a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, who was a vegetarian.
Gandhi Jayanti is globally recognized as the International Day of Non-Violence.In the letter, PETA India notes that the street’s name has a colonial past and is associated with the meat trade, which contradicts Gandhi’s values of non-violence and vegetarianism.
“Renaming Mutton Street to ‘Ahimsa Marg’ would be a wonderful tribute to Gandhiji’s memory and would remind the public to respect all animals in the heart of Mumbai,” said PETA India Manager of Vegan Projects, Dr. Kiran Ahuja. She added, “PETA India encourages everyone to celebrate Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy daily by choosing healthy and delicious plant-based foods.”
A section of Mutton Street is also colloquially known as `Chor Bazaar,’ as it is rumored that stolen goods are sold here. In their letter, PETA India also urged that perhaps vegan food hawkers and other vegan businesses could be established on Ahimsa Marg, encouraging both tourists and locals to frequent the area.
The letter quotes Mahatma Gandhi, who once said, “To my mind, the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being. I hold that the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man.”
PETA India further pointed out that killing animals for meat involves large-scale violence. Chickens are often shackled upside down before their throats are slit, goats are forcefully pinned down while their throats are cut with knives, and cows and buffaloes are crammed into vehicles in such large numbers that their bones often break before they’re dragged to slaughterhouses.
Pigs are stabbed in the heart as they scream, and on fishing boats, fish suffocate or are cut open while still alive.
Additionally, eating meat and other animal-derived foods has been linked to heart disease, strokes, diabetes, cancer, and obesity.
The rearing and killing of animals for food have also been connected to a multitude of zoonotic diseases like bird flu and swine flu. A United Nations report has concluded that a global shift towards vegan eating is necessary to combat the worst effects of the climate catastrophe.