Mango wars on Indian Twitter, and why celebrities and politicians love the national fruit – just don’t ask which variety is the most delicious

The hashtag #MangoWars went viral in India last weekend as thousands of Indians joined a Twitter tirade over which variety of mango is the best. The first salvo was fired by an internet user who said the Alphonso, an expensive variety grown in India’s western belt, was overrated.

“Alphonso is the most overrated stuff you will ever come across …. Try Dashahari, Chausa, Safeda and ultimate Langda/Malda,” he wrote. Within minutes, the tweet went viral as lovers of the Alphonso – named after a Portuguese general, Afonso de Albuquerque, who established Portuguese colonies in India – attacked this user.

“Send me your address. I’ll send you home-grown south Gujarat Kesar from my orchard … I’m pretty sure this will end the discussion and the war,” wrote one user. Another, a lover of the ripe green Langda variety, posted: “East or West, Langda is the best”. And so it went as angry exchanges, even insults, flew thick and fast between mango lovers, each claiming their region’s variety to be the best.

With their pulpy, juicy flesh, fragrant aroma and attractive looks, mangoes have a passionate fan base across the country of 1.3 billion. The mango is the national fruit – as it is in Pakistan and the Philippines – and discussions over which variety is the best often become heated.

“With mango varieties you are never just selling a fruit. You’re selling emotions,” says Bhuvan Singh, a third-generation fruit vendor from Noida in Uttar Pradesh, who has been selling the fruit for three decades. “The Indian love for mangoes is unmatched. I often get entire families coming to my stall to buy the fruit, with each member picking out his own personal favourite.”