Itanagar: After Itanagar Capital Region (ICR) administration directed hotels and restaurants in the district to remove the word ‘beef’ from their signboards, a backlash was seen on social media by locals who claimed that this was the first move toward a beef ban in the state.

On Thursday, the order to remove the word ‘beef’ from signboards came out but netizens took to Facebook and Twitter claiming that this was a step to test the sentiments of the people on the issue.

Some on Facebook said that this was stage 1 and following this, there will be a move to ban beef in the state.

Speaking on the matter, Panjang Aboh, a local of the Naharlagun area said, “This is just the beginning. If not opposed now, it will be difficult for the non-Hindu communities even to live. This needs to be opposed at any cost.”

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Tasso Chobin Tada, another local said that this order is just a trial to see the reaction of the people in the region. “The next move would surely be a ban of beef in a phased manner”, he added.

Some of the people protesting said that this cannot be accepted in Arunachal and the ones having a problem with Arunachal should “leave the state”.

It may be mentioned that the order was issued by the Executive Magistrate of Naharlagun SubDivision in the Capital Complex under 144 CrPC on July 14, 2022. 

The order read, “It has been brought to the notice of the undersigned that there are numerous hotels and restaurants mushrooming within the administrative boundary of the Naharlagun sub-division with the word ‘beef’ written on the signboards of those hotels and restaurants.” 

The district administration of the ICR believes in the “secular spirit of our Indian constitution” but such open display of word ‘beef’ on the signboards of such hotels and restaurants may hurt the sentiments of some sections of the community and may create animosity between different groups of community, it said. 

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The order stated, “To maintain peace in the community and to continue the spirit of secularism and brotherhood within the community, all such hotels and restaurants, which have written the word ‘beef’ on their signboards, have been directed to remove such word by July 18, 2022. The ICR district administration said it would impose a fine of Rs 2,000 and cancel the trading licence if such hotels and restaurants fail to adhere to the order.”

However, the topic is being viewed with mixed reactions across Arunachal.