Mumbai vegetarians attempt to keep meat-eaters out of apartment blocks

Mumbai's vegetarians can be a pushy lot, commonly using their clout to prevent meat-eaters from renting or buying flats in the complexes where they live.

The aim is to turn their apartment blocks into vegetarian enclaves.

But now, grocery store owners and supermarkets in the same neighbourhoods are also toeing the line, taking not just meat and eggs off the shelves but also any sandwich, salad or dessert that might contain them.

In a supermarket in Malabar Hill - home to rich and staunchly vegetarian business families - no such products are available.

"Many shopkeepers will not keep them because it will offend some of the people who live and shop here," said Indrani Malkani, head of the Malabar Hill Residents' Association.

Many cafes have gone vegetarian and even global fast food chains such as Pizza Hut and McDonald's have taken meat items off their menus.

The vegetarian majority in many housing complexes have long tried to keep out carnivores. Ms Malkani said: "Prospective tenants or new buyers who are not vegetarian are discreetly discouraged. By law, you can't discriminate against them, so it's done discreetly."