1.“All Indians are vegetarians”
India is a land of varied cuisines and tastes. Each part of India has its own culture, which has influenced culinary styles. There are the extremely rigid Hindu and Jain communities who will not even eat onions, let alone anything that moves, while there are the people from the coffee producing area of Coorg, whose non-vegetarian cuisine is renowned. There are as many non-vegetarians in the country as there are vegetarians. The misconception arose from the fact that several Hindus and other religious communities believed and still believe that non vegetarian food was polluted and tainted. It is easy to be vegetarian here since almost all restaurants have an extensive vegetarian menu; however each part of India is renowned for its own particular cuisine, catering to carnivores and herbivores alike. Vegetarianism has come to be associated with good health and many prefer to choose a green lifestyle, but this does not mean the demise of non vegetarian cuisine, which continues to flourish in all its meaty splendor!
2.“All Indians are Hindu”
India is a multi religious and multi cultural nation with Hindus making up the majority of the population. However, Muslims make up a significant percentage of the population, while there are an equally considerable number of Christians, Parsis, Jews, Jains, Sardars and Buddhists. India prides itself on this religious diversity and several foreigners are amazed at the number of festivals celebrated in the country, due to the fact that each religious community has a certain number of significant events.