Economist Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, has defended Indians’ practice of eating with their hands after a social media user questioned a video of a couple sharing a traditional meal.
The exchange began when a Florida-based user named Aka posted a clip that appeared to show a couple eating with their hands at a South Indian wedding. The caption asked: “Seriously question, why do they all eat with their hands?”
Sanyal replied on X: “It is a simple test… if you cannot bear to touch it, and need metal instruments, then it is probably a bad idea to put it in your mouth.”
It is a simple test….. if you cannot bear to touch it, and need metal instruments, then it is probably a bad idea to put it in your mouth. https://t.co/omWQcETPDi
— Sanjeev Sanyal (@sanjeevsanyal) September 5, 2026
In a follow-up, he pointed to what he called a selective Western standard. The same critics, he noted, eat pizza, doughnuts, burgers, bread and French fries with bare hands. To another user, he wrote: “Well, you can wash your hands before eating just as easily as a metal instrument.”
The post revived a wider argument that disdain for eating rice and curry by hand is a colonial hangover.
Mainstream Western dining treats forks, knives and spoons as the proper tools for meals with rice, grains and gravy. Hand-eating is often labelled unhygienic or backward, even though many Western foods are eaten without cutlery.
However, Indian practice say it is structured and deliberate: hands are washed, food is mixed in measured portions, and touch is part of how texture and temperature are judged.
The argument sharpened in mid-2025 after a viral video showed New York politician Zohran Mamdani eating a traditional rice dish with his hands. Texas Congressman Brandon Gill criticised him, saying “civilized people in America don’t eat like this” and telling him to “go back to the Third World” if he would not adopt Western customs. That remark drew backlash and turned a dining habit into a political and cultural fight.
