Maharashtra school withdraws Paryushan lunchbox advisory after MNS protest

A controversy erupted after a school owned by a BJP MLA in Maharashtra's Thane district advised students not to carry root vegetables such as onion, garlic, potato, and beetroot in lunchboxes during the Jain community's ongoing Paryushan festival, prompting the MNS to question the move. However, after the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) held a protest, the school withdrew the circular. Mira Bhayandar MLA Narendra Mehta, who owns the Seven Square Academy, dismissed the allegations, saying the message was just a request, not a mandatory order.

The issue flared up after the school, located in the Mira Road area, sent a message on its official WhatsApp groups requesting parents not to pack root vegetables in their children's lunchboxes for the duration of 'Paryushan Parva'. The advisory also noted that during the eight-day holy period, the school canteen would serve food prepared without onions, garlic, and potatoes. The MNS took exception to the message after some parents alerted the party about it. MNS activists led by the party's Thane district unit chief Avinash Jadhav staged a protest at the school with the demonstrators wearing garlands of onions and garlic around their necks and attempted to enter the premises.

Jadhav met the school principal and demanded withdrawal of the circular by the evening, and warned that an "MNS-style" agitation involving members of various communities would be taken up if action was not taken. Following the demonstration, MNS' Mira Bhayandar assembly constituency president Sachin Popale announced that the school management withdrew the circular from its official portal. "This is the result of the MNS raising its voice. Following our strong stand, the school administration and MLA Narendra Mehta withdrew the notice. Raising your voice makes a difference," he said.

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The school management is yet to come out with an official statement regarding the exact reasons behind removing the circular. Popale questioned how the school could "dictate" what children should carry in their lunchboxes. "Who is the school management to decide what Marathi students and children should eat? If a Marathi entrepreneur opens a school tomorrow and asks students of all communities to bring chicken, mutton, or eggs during Gatari, would that be accepted?" he asked. "Today, the government, municipal mayors, and now school administrations are attempting to dictate what our children carry in their tiffins," Popale alleged.

MLA Mehta, however, dismissed the allegations of imposition and urged parties not to politicise the festival. Clarifying the intent behind the WhatsApp message, he told reporters, "Paryushan is a sacred festival centered around 'ahimsa' (non-violence) and compassion for all living beings. The message sent by the school was merely a request to parents, not a mandatory order or compulsion. We simply asked students and parents to refrain from packing non-essential or unhealthy items for these eight days as part of healthy eating habits."

Mehta emphasised that the initiative aimed to respect religious sentiments and foster a spirit of health awareness, citing that scientific principles lie behind traditions such as consuming warm water or light vegetarian diets. Similar advisories urging people to avoid non-vegetarian food are routinely communicated during festivals like Ganeshotsav and Navratri, he added. The dispute comes against the backdrop of resolutions passed by the Mira Bhaindar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) regarding a temporary ban on meat and fish sales during Paryushan.