Restaurants and meat shops in South Delhi will now have to compulsorily display whether it is selling Halal or Jhatka meat after the municipal corporation passed the proposal it had been mulling since December last year.
Delhi | South Delhi Municipal Corporation has passed a proposal regarding mandatory writing of ‘Halal meat’ or ‘Jhatka meat’ for the meat being served and sold by restaurants and meat shops
— ANI (@ANI) January 21, 2021
“There are thousands of restaurants in 104 wards of four zones falling under South Delhi Municipal Corporation. Out of these, meat is served in about 90 per cent of restaurants but it is not mentioned whether the meat being served by the restaurants is ‘halal’ or ‘jhatka’,” said the resolution passed by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation.
It further read that, “according to Hinduism and Sikhism, eating ‘halal’ meat is forbidden and against religion. Therefore, the committee resolves that this direction be given to restaurants and meat shops that it should be written mandatorily about the meat being sold and served by them that ‘halal’ or ‘jhatka’ meat is available here.”
Legal action against eateries and retailers who violate the guidelines
Narendra Chawla, a member of the municipal corporation, stated that officials have been ordered to take action against the eateries or retailers who flout the guidelines stated in the notice. “Everyone has the right to know what he is eating. Also in Hindu and Sikh religion, there are some prescribed rules or conventions about diet,” read the notice.
SDMC drafts the proposal in December 2020
It is pertinent to note that the South Delhi municipal body was mulling on the proposal since last year. On December 25 we reported that SDMC drafted a proposal which stated that since consuming Halal meat is forbidden for Hindus and Sikhs, it should be their prerogative to know which meat they are being served so that they could make an informed choice.
The resolution which was moved by the Chhattarpur councillor Anita Tanwar was tabled by the medical reduction and public well-being panel on November 9, 2020. Tanwar had cleared then that the intent behind the move was not to stop anyone from eating one form of meat but to respect the religious sentiments of the people.
Moreover, the Standing committee chairperson, Rajdutt Gahlot had said that the target is to let the buyer know in regards to the sort of meat being served, in order that they’ll make a knowledgeable selection.
Recently, it was reported that a restaurateur in Kerala had opened an exclusive non-halal restaurant in Kerala’s Ernakulam district and placed a banner outside her eatery which reads “No Halal, Halal Bakshanam Nishidham” (Halal food is banned here).
Govt of India removes the word ‘Halal’ from its Red Meat Manual
In the beginning of the year, the central government had removed the word ‘Halal’ from its Red Meat Manual issued by Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA).
Essentially, the changes in the manual were to ensure that the wording is not misconstrued to mean that the government of India mandates the Halal method in any way, which demands the hegemony of Muslims.
