Forcing charity down the throat

To celebrate the auspicious occasion of Dashera a “langar” was started in the outskirts of our college. The Mess staff of most hostels decided to get holy and closed the messes so everyone is forced to eat in langar. As the only food joint is owned by the person giving the langar you have to eat the langar food you have no alternative except if you remaining hungry. But what if someone did not want others charity? Who cares! The thing has religious feel to it so going against the arrangement in anyway would be blasphemous.
As me and my friend did not want to eat on charity we went to the perhaps only mess which was open and ate on seniors account. On the way back I was fuming with indignation of injustice. When I told my friend how wrong it was and that I planned to complain he replied “It does not affect me.” I enquired why he had not eaten in the bhandar then.
“I will never do that.” He replied.
So what he had meant to say was “I am bothered by it but I will not take any action.”
We are Indians where conformity is everything. Going against the authority is unthinkable the consequences too great. Besides why even bother? Better to go hungry as most of my other friends did.
I would suggest that such charity could be put to better use if it was served to those who need it. There are many people in the surrounding area below the poverty line why not use the money to provide a day’s meal to them. Why force it on us who don’t want it.