India’s Bengal drops eggs from school lunches: Why that’s stoking debate

The government of the eastern Indian state of West Bengal has decided to drop eggs from a school lunch scheme that spans all government-run schools, stirring up debate about politics and nutrition. The government, led by Indian PM Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has handed the contract for what is known as the midday meal programme to the Hindu religious organisation, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement. The organisation has in turn announced a menu that strips the meals of eggs. The Hindu majoritarian BJP, which rules nationally, came to power in West Bengal, a state of more than 100 million people, for the first time in May. Here is what was announced, and why it has prompted debate. Students eat their midday meal during lunch break at a government high school on the outskirts of Hyderabad on November 23, 2021 [Noah Seelam/AFP] What was announced? The BJP government of West Bengal announced last week that it was handing over the food contract for the midday meal scheme to ISKCON. ISKCON, which offers a strictly vegetarian menu – like many so-called “upper-caste” Indian Hindus, the organisation treats eggs on a par with meat – has argued that it will ensure that it serves high-quality and nutritious lunches to the nearly 12 million pupils in West Bengal who consume midday meals. …