Despite the shrill, hate-filled and communal election campaign that was unleashed in the just-concluded assembly elections in Bengal and Assam, in the two other states and one Union territory that also went to polls, communal symbolism appears to have largely failed.Puducherry may have voted the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party government back to power, but Tamil Nadu focused on jettisoning the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and even though rival AIADMK is a party supported by the BJP, it did not quite vote for the latter either. Yet, neither Tamil Nadu nor Puducherry pitched the Hindutva communal hate theme. Kerala which booted the twice-elected Left-front government in the state also saw no communal hatred fanned. The BJP’s vote percentage was around 11% this election, less than in elections before, but it got three seats for the first time.It is two of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the BJP’s pet symbols of hatred, the hijab and beef, which challenges Hindutva in Kerala. The Muslim community has adopted the modern hijab and head scarf as a flag of identity pride (the attacks and bans on young women sporting such covers in schools, colleges and workplaces in many parts of the country are legion), and beef eating festivals are seen all over the state and are championed first and foremost by a section of Hindus who seek to challenge the RSS’s culture of enforcing food restrictions, propagating vegetarianism, and beef vigilantism that has led to murderous violence against Muslim and Dalit people in the rest of the country.Two people in Kerala are uniquely poised to shed light on the importance of cultural symbols in fending off the surge of communalism.Khadija Mumtaz is a gynaecologist, a state Sahitya Award winning author, and a reformist who has been working for equal inheritance laws for women in the Muslim community.Kozhikode city councillor P. Usha Devi, former head nurse of Calicut Medical College, and state president of the Government Nurses Association, participated in one of the first beef festivals in the state in 2017, and has supported the movement ever since. Excerpts from the chat with them are as follows.It is said that the hijab came only in the 1980s and it has now grown more conventional than the traditional attire of Muslim women in Kerala. What are your thoughts on this?Khadija Mumtaz: The hijab first came from the Gulf around the 1980s as a fashion statement brought by the men who were working there, but it was also a way of throwing the veil on the women who were left behind. Traditionally, Moplah women wore almost all white like the women from other communities in the state, who wore the kachi mundu or sarong with a colourful border, a tight-fitting and flattering long-sleeved tunic above, and a tattam or head-scarf loosely tied on their head which allowed them to show off their bejewelled ears. The orthodox wear all black today.Khadija Mumtaz. Photo: Kerala Literature Festival.I’m 70 now, and my generation took to the sari instead. It was common to see Muslim women wear only the sari just like the women from all three communities. We all dressed alike.My parents were fine with this as well. We come from Thrissur, in central Kerala, which was the birthplace of Muslim renaissance in early and middle 20th century, where authors, reformists, writers came out with their best. The Indian Union Muslim League [IUML] too began as a reformist organisation, stressing on education especially for women, which later spread to north Malabar and the rest of the state.Of course, our dress from the beginning had the Arab connection. The idea was to always cover, but the traditional Moplah dress factored in the local weather, fabric, colour, etc.So, when did the sari jump to the hijab?Khadija Mumtaz: It changed first with the traders and merchants opening up dozens of shops selling the purdah and hijab around the 80s, with images of beautiful women wearing the attire – they ushered in the hijab fashion business. Today, younger women like the hijab as it is a new, stylish garment comprising colours, head scarves, long dresses, or tunics and pyjamas.The hijab also became a powerful statement in the 90s with the rising Islamophobia in the world and, more so after the demolition of the Babri Masjid, in 1992. Though Kerala did not witness any riots thanks to the IUML, however, a certain fissure began to appear between communities at the cultural level, stoked by the RSS-BJP which resulted in a new assertion of cultural identity. “Why can’t I wear my dress?” was the reaction to oppressive Islamophobia.But do you think there was a strain of creeping conservatism that came with Muslim religious groups which perhaps also impacted the dress code?Khadija Mumtaz: The mujahid (modern) movement was initially progressive when it came in the 1930s, fighting against superstitions and educational backwardness of Muslims. It was initially named Aikhya Sangham, and they stressed on women’s education. My grandfather belonged to the earlier mujahid, the movement which opened schools all over Kerala, mainly in Malabar; so much so as young students we thought we were really modern as we did not adapt to local cultures. But today, the same group is anti-human, it is rigid and they insist on the purdah and that women should behave within their puritanical code. They are powerful and control a lot, from schools to madrasas, bring books and spread their teachings; though they still stress on higher education for women, and that has turned out many doctors, engineers, software analysts etcOn the other hand, the IUML a political party, has changed over time. I used to criticise them earlier as they did not give seats to women, and such like, but today, they have taken a firm stand against fascism by aligning with the Congress.What do you think of the IUML’s stand to not go with the LDF?Khadija Mumtaz: Well, during the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Kerala, the IUML opened centres all over the state knowing well that Muslims will be the most affected by it. The LDF government which had given several assurances in the assembly that it would not allow the SIR, caved in to Delhi. The Collectorate was actually calling up prominent people to participate in video demonstrations to show how easy the SIR process is, that it was democratic and patriotic. I refused to go because I believe the people were fooled and the common people were struggling to submit their forms. I called up local councillors but they were lax. The LDF was busy fighting the local elections. It was the IUML and community leaders who were vigilant and helped the poor people.Has the hijab been made a sharper symbol since the SIR?Khadija Mumtaz: When the community is constantly targeted, when you are told you are not citizens of India, and that you must leave the country, there is a kind of resistance that comes, with an assertion of identity. We are not so concerned about the hijab today, I’ve written several articles and a novel too on the pointlessness of the heavy scarf in a hot country, etc., but we have left it as a personal choice.But there is a division that is happening slowly and steadily in our cultural unity. The RSS is reinventing itself in Kerala by projecting a good face – it is doing social surveys of the Hindu community, renovating temples and inviting the community for feasts. It organises tours for women of temples inside and outside the state. There are Dalit and Adivasi outreach programmes, and training camps. The RSS’s Seva Bharti runs ambulances. My concern is the takeover and segregation of common spaces that happens through such exercises.§The north is always trying to project Kerala as beef-eating, ‘impure’ Hindus. What do you think of this?Usha Devi: The first beef fest was organised in 2015 by SFI and DYFI, the Left student and youth groups, in solidarity with Mohammad Akhlaq who was lynched and murdered by Hindutva goons in his home in UP, for allegedly storing beef.Food is a personal choice, it is about our personal likes and dislikes, and food is part of our cultural identity. No one has the right to look into our kitchens to see what we are cooking and eating. Sure, in olden days beef was restricted in many Hindu homes, it was not a traditional culinary dish. For instance, it was not cooked in my home though my father enjoyed a plate of beef fry. I would eat too if my fragile stomach permitted it – but my family is free to eat whatever they like. I would say even today, not many homes cook beef but it has become a food fad among the youth.P. Usha Devi. Photo: By arrangement.Beef fests have become a symbol of protest against RSS-BJP-Hindutva’s food fascism.Usha Devi: The festivals have blazed across the state as an act of defiance against the religious and political attempts to dictate our culinary habits. Beef fests, from college campuses to public kitchens where cooked beef and parotta are served to passers-by and activists. have acted as protests against all kinds of impositions by Hindutva – from the Union government’s notification in 2017, banning the sale and purchase of cattle from animal markets for slaughter, to street food festivals in 2021 to thwart the RSS’s politics of mixing food with religion. Beef fests were also held to protest against the fake propaganda film, Kerala Story 2.Recently, there was a bank union which held a beef fest protesting beef ban in the canteen.Usha Devi: Yes, last year, the newly appointed regional manager of Kochi’s Canara Bank, a native of Bihar, banned beef in the office canteen saying it went against his faith. He could not have had a worse welcome – employees swiftly organised a beef fest with regional bank unions also pitching in. The staff served beef curry and parotta outside the office to stage their protest, saying the ban was an infringement on personal food choices and cultural identity. In Kerala, there are absolutely no food restrictions by the state. BJP state leaders have been spotted eating beef, like a former party state president, during the lynching agitation. Also, as is reported the big beef exporters are from the BJP, starting with union minister Nitin Gadkari. The BJP’s revenge is that Kerala House in Delhi does not serve beef.Are beef fests as a political movement gaining popularity?Usha Devi: Yes, it is certainly a protest against north India’s version of Hinduism or Hindutva. The Narendra Modi-RSS-BJP dream of ‘one language, one election, one nation, one Hindu culture, one leader’ will be resisted forcefully in Kerala. We are a diverse nation of hundreds of cuisines, and many languages and cultures. The Modi idea of India must be stopped.But the RSS-BJP seems to be on the upswing in the state, it got 11% votes and three seats in the just concluded polls?Usha Devi: Yes, the RSS-BJP is coming into the state step by step, they are working systematically on the ground. For instance, temple committees have become very significant in Kerala. In fact, I’d say temple building is also huge with a lot of resources at their disposal, with hardly any accountability. The idea, it seems, is to make the temple an important feature in people’s daily life. In my village itself, there was just one temple which could be approached by a rough path. It was a beautiful ancient shrine, we went there without prejudice, it was just a simple act of worship and belief. Today there are six new temples, and local women are being invited all the time for feasts and ceremonies, the whole belief system has changed. There is no genuine devotion, it has become political.The RSS always had a presence in Kerala over decades and the CPI(M) too has got members on temple boards.Usha Devi: Yes, but today they [RSS] have so much funds to spend here – setting up social and religious associations in every district, youth movements, ambulance services etc. Sure, all political parties – CPI(M), League [IUML], Congress – always had these associations, but the BJP had no presence earlier. It has suddenly jumped in, flush with huge funds. And it is also a party that believes in dividing people, this is certainly not good and has to be resisted.As for the CPI(M), the party has never told its members not to go to temples or mosques or churches; they can follow their religious practices without any restrictions. The CPI(M) is also on the board of various temples only to keep a check on the RSS which seems to be stuffing their members in every Devasom board today.What do you think of the beef protests and the role they can play?Usha Devi: While there may be more Kerala women and youth participating in religious fests, beef in the state has always been commonplace because of the Christians and Muslims who are not a tiny minority but have a dominant status here. Beef is available everywhere, it is also cheap, there are no restrictions, and since cow worship was historically not so prevalent, there is no taboo today though most of the beef available is buffalo meat. Hindus are mostly non-vegetarian here so beef became just another dish to be added, especially with the new generation.And as long as people resist the idea of any kind of culinary imposition and restrictions, food fascism will be fought by beef fests.