Non Veg Nation

The first nationwide survey of both rural and urban Indians found that only 31 percent of Indians declare themselves vegetarians. Another 9 percent identified themselves as “eggtarians,” or vegetarians who eat eggs.

The poll found that women are more likely to be vegetarian then men. The only group in which a majority were vegetarians were Brahmins, but even among them 45 percent reported themselves as non vegetarian. In only two states Rajasthan (63%), Haryana (62%) did the majority of the population identify themselves as vegetarian. The fewest vegetarians lived in Kerala (2%), Andhra Pradesh (4%) and Bengal (3%).

The survey conducted for the The Hindu-CNN-IBN TV found that 21% of Indians smoked and 13% drank liquor.