[Forbes India - opinion]

Veganism as a concept is practically unknown in India, as this
starry-eyed idealist learned when she attempted to keep the faith
...
W hen I moved to India, I thought it would be a vegan’s Mecca, a place
where, at last, I could mingle with others who practiced a lifestyle
just as fervently as I did.

I had chosen veganism a few years before because the whole animal
slaughter thing became too difficult to ignore. I knew that most often
the motivation for vegetarianism in India was more religious than
animal-inspired, but the idea that an entire country could strive for
ahimsa towards animals seemed both astonishing and perfect.

That first day in India, taking in the barrage of things foreign and
unknown on Mumbai’s streets, one thing stood out: Nearly every
restaurant had a sign that marked itself as “Veg” or “Non-Veg.” Entire
restaurants devoted to vegetarianism? I had died and gone to heaven!

Later that day, traipsing through the supermarket with naïve glee, I
revelled in the system of labelling in which vegetarian products bore
a green dot in a green square and animal-based products bore the label
in brown. Very few vegetarian labels existed in the US.

The Jain family with whom I was staying told me how pleased they were
that I had chosen vegetarianism even though I was American.
(Translation: They were glad that even though I was from a heathen
country where a typical dinner was a hunk of meat, I had chosen to
forego that.)
...
Lacto-vegetarians consume dairy products, and this country consumes a
lot of them. India is the number one milk-producing country in the
world, and dairy products are a vital part of the diet, in both rural
and urban areas. I soon realised Amul’s milk, butter, and cheese were
as ubiquitous as their ads.

Veganism runs against all of this. As a diet and as a lifestyle, it
excludes the use of any animal products to produce food, clothing, or
anything else you might use in daily life. ...
...
In a country that loves dairy products, and uses so many other
animal-produced luxuries, I wondered dejectedly — but with a lingering
sense of American superiority — was veganism even possible here?
Manish Jain is a vegan, and the creator of IndianVegan.com, a portal
which promotes veganism in India by stressing ethical reasons,
debunking myths and employing health experts for back-up.

--
full story:
http://business.in.com/article/recliner/being-vegan-in-india/4482/1

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