Hyderabad: With Ramzan season upon us, and people swarming their nearest haleem outlets, some people, not being able to handle the dish’s popularity, have called to boycott it altogether.
One post on X, from the account Tathvam-asi, called upon Hindus to take an oath not eat haleem this season. Soon, people showed up to defend their beloved dish and slammed the poster for spreading hate.
“Why are you spreading hate. I love Haleem as a Hindu. What is your problem?” said one X user while another said, “PEOPLE of Telangana can compromise on anything but never I repeat will NEVER compromise when it comes to FOOD.”
Meanwhile, others took to sarcasm, saying how the boycott would benefit Muslims, as Hindus normally “finish all the food before iftar.”
“I will print this out myself. Hindus should boycott all Muslim foods so that something is left for sehri and iftari for Muslims too. I’m sick of Hindus finishing all our non-veg delicacies before we finish our fast,” said another user.
Telangana-based journalist Revathi also came to the dish’s defence, calling it an “integral part of the city’s culture”, something that “even non-Muslims wait for”.
She stressed how the dish helps to generate revenue for thousands of people and has heaps of protein. “Hyderabadi Haleem was also awarded the GI tag in 2010, the first non-vegetarian dish in India to earn the GI tag. One word of advice, you want to win the hearts of Hyderabadis – don’t try to come near our Biryani and Haleem!” she said.
