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On the flip side, to many Indians, "vegetarian" means egg-free, though oddly, it may include fish dishes.

The special treatment of fish varies across parts of India, but the concept that eggs are non-vegetarian is fairly standard there (to a lesser extent abroad).

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That might be true for people who hail from certain coastal communities (like Bengal, Orissa, etc.) but more often than not, "Vegetarian" means No eggs, No Fish, No meat.

> That might be true for people who hail from certain coastal communities (like Bengal, Orissa, etc.)

Right, the fish part is mostly in areas where fish is already a staple of the diet.

My point was that "vegetarian" for many Indians is similar to "vegan" in that it proscribes eggs (though not always dairy).

I personally use the term 'pure vegetarian'.

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