by Charles Liu
The NanfangToday, 9:09 AM
A recent GlobalPost article explaining India’s spike in sexual violence has attracted a lot of negative attention. The explanations, which don’t seem to be grounded in reality, run the gamut from wearing jeans, condom ads, cell phones, victim blaming and, wait for it… Chinese noodles.
See Also: Foxconn to Build New iPhone Factory in India as it Transitions from China Amid Higher Labor Costs
The leader of a caste council advocating “honor killings” explains it as follows:
“To my understanding, consumption of fast food contributes to [rape],” said Jitender Chhatar, and “chowmein leads to hormonal imbalance, evoking an urge to indulge in such acts.”
As the article “explains”, people have blamed everyone and everything except the rapists themselves.
In the face of a serious lack of evidence, we can safely assume that “Chinese noodles” can’t be considered a legitimate cause of rape. But, how can one associate a well-loved food with sexual violence? And why Chinese noodles, and not Italian noodles?
First of all, when Indians refer to “Chinese noodles”, they’re likely not referring to the “chowmein” that Americans may enjoy as take-out. Instead, Indians are referring to the Maggi brand of noodles:
Maggi noodles, made locally by Nestle India, are tremendously popular in India and control 90 percent of the market share. That is, they did until Maggi noodles were banned by various Indian authorities last June, when they were discovered to contain abnormally high levels of MSG and 17 times the permissible level of lead.
While this sparked a national food safety scandal, it did not diminish the public’s hunger for “Chinese noodles”. While Maggi’s instant noodles disappeared, competitors stepped in to fill consumer demand. Unfortunately, rumors abounded that some of these products were counterfeit, and had not been regulated.
See Also: Cigarette Ashes and Mildew the Secret Ingredients at Shenzhen Noodle Shop
Undaunted, Nestle India is looking to re-enter the Indian market by year’s end, no doubt encouraged by the recent “We Miss You Too” social media campaign for the return of Maggi’s instant noodles.
Food safety is not the sole reason Chinese noodles are controversial in India. Not only are they being blamed for rape, Chinese food products are perceived as eroding traditional Indian values. The upwardly-mobile middle class is looking to convenient, pre-packaged fast food over hand-made meals that take several hours to prepare.
See Also: Bare Footed Workers Caught Stomping On Noodles Destined For The Dinner Table
The idea that a wholesome diet is the foundation for a wholesome lifestyle leads us back to India’s national discussion on sexual violence. Indian state minister, Vinay Bihari, advocated for a meat-free diet, saying that, “People who eat more non-vegetarian food like chicken and fish are more inclined towards carrying out molestation and rape,” adding that meat eating “leads to a hot temper”.
What isn’t being discussed is the link between the noodles and China: they are not made in China, and have almost no association with the country. One possibility may be that the Chinese flavors are the most popular of all the Maggi instant noodle flavors, even though curry-flavored variants are available.
In the end, and despite the trillions of dollars China spends on soft power every year, it actually doesn’t matter: China is inextricably linked with instant noodles in India. And, as the national debate about India’s sexual violence continues, so too will Chinese culture come under fire, if only by way of guilt by association.
The post India’s “Rape Culture” Blamed on Chinese Noodles appeared first on The Nanfang.
https://thenanfang.com/chinese-noodles-notorious-india-blame-rape/
