Thread by @shrikanth_krish

I think an economics lesson is in order here, for this handle.

Meals are by default vegetarian in many Indian settings for the same reason that so many restaurants in NYC are Kosher. Though a very tiny minority of New Yorkers are Jewish

https://twitter.com/peeleraja/status/1074684282537267200

When you have a sizeable minority that is stubborn in its preferences (which is basically 30-40% of India), and the remaining 60% doesn't mind vegetarian food, then it makes a great deal of sense to have a "standard" vegetarian meal, as opposed to two different menus

The reason why so many non-veg restaurants in India are Halal is again because of the same reason...

A very very large proportion of "regular" meat eaters in India are in fact Muslims...

So even though a majority of "non veggies" may in fact be Hindu, it still makes business sense for a non veg restaurant to serve Halal only meat

Civilizational preferences are invariably driven by "stubborn minorities".

That's a fact of life.

This is the reason why "Jain" meal is so widely available in International flights across carriers, though Jains are such a tiny micro-minority

And this extends into areas of public policy (which often infuriate even my fellow right wingers)...

Eg : Why do we have a Haj subsidy in India, but not subsidies for Indian pilgrims?

Again it is the "stubborn minority" at work

A very significant proportion of practising Muslims actually undertake the Haj. Religiously, and often regularly.

So there is a market for Haj subsidy. You earn their goodwill by giving that subsidy...

Is there such a sizeable, but significant minority among Hindus who are fanatical about their Benares yatra or their Badri yatra? No

Sure, many Hindus would love to do it at some point in their lives. But they are not fanatical about it. Many practising Hindus dont lose their sleep if they never make it to Kashi

This is the reason why a subsidy for Hindu pilgrimages is a non starter.

Because you dont have a constituency for it, even though millions of Hindus do undertake pilgrimages.

But these journeys are invariably undertaken spontaneously. Not as a religious duty

Which is why you have Haj subsidy. But no Kailash mansarovar subsidy. Or Badri subsidy.

Stubbornness counts

Another example is the incidence of "Pure vegetarian" restaurants in Tamil Nadu vs Punjab / Delhi...

You find so many more "Pure vegetarian" restaurants in TN. But not as many in Delhi or Punjab.

Though Punjab's vegetarian rate is something like 60%, Tamil Nadu - maybe 4-5%

Why is that?

It is because the "vegetarians" in Punjab are not fanatical about eating in a "veg only" place...

They are OK if the person next to them is munching chicken

In contrast, even though only 4-5% of Tamilians may be veg, the market for "Pure veg" places is greater in TN. Because Tamil vegetarians are more fanatical.

They insist on eating in a place where no meat is cooked.

This is a riddle that eluded me the first time I thought about it.

I could never figure out why you have more "pure veg" places in TN, but not as many in Punjab - where over half the society is veg...

It is the stubbornness that counts. Not the mere fact that you are vegetarian