Should Vegetarian Hindus Sue Over Being Served Meat?

Poor Moghul Express of Edison, NJ. An Indian restaurant in the heart of Edison’s Indian community owned by a Hindu, Moghul Express (reported at CNN as “Mughal Express”) is being sued by a group of 16 Hindus who felt harmed “emotionally and spiritually” for accidentally being served meat in a tray of samosas two summers ago and want to be flown to India to “purify their souls.”

Strict vegetarian Durgesh Gupta and Sharad Agrawal had ordered samosas, making sure to ask that there was no meat in their order of the traditional Indian snack.

Gupta said a restaurant employee assured them that it did not make meat samosas, according to court documents. A half-hour later, the two men picked up a tray labeled “VEG samosas.”

But after Gupta and his group of 16 people began eating the triangular deep-fried pastries, they grew concerned they were eating meat. When they went to return the uneaten samosas, the restaurant said it had made a mistake, court documents showed.

Yes, the vegetarians had consumed meat and believed they were complicit in inflicting death and injury to God’s creatures.

They sued Mughal Express but a lower court deemed they did not have a case – until this week, when the appellate court reversed that decision. [full story]

At the heart of the controversy is what kind of restitution this group can sue for; a state appellate court ruled Wednesday that they can sue for the cost of travel to India to purify their souls. The group of 16 Hindus (I’m going to start calling them “The Samosa 16”) want the restaurant to pay for a trip to the Hindu holy town of Haridwar, India, where the Ganges begins its downward flow to the ocean. There, they want to take dips in the river and, by Hindu belief, cleanse their souls of sin.

Although I can imagine the distress The Samosa 16 went through, I can’t help but to side with the restaurant owners in this case. As a small business owners– undoubtedly chasing their slice of the American dream– it seems utterly ridiculous to have to pay for an expensive trip for a mistake which may have been caused by a inattentive employee. I think it’s laudable that the restaurant admitted to the mistake– but to have Moghul Express foot the expense of sending The Samosa 16 on a trip to India for “purification”– which many Hindu religious leaders say can be done in a temple in the United States– well, quite frankly, it reminds me of a pair of $65 million pants.

This must be a polarizing topic for the Indian community in Edison as I can actually see why people would land on either side of the debate. What do you think of it all? (I think I want Indian food for lunch tomorrow!)

Flickr photo credit: feastguru_kirti