India is a country that prides itself on being secular. It proudly believes in the concept of Unity In Diversity. Therefore it is even more disheartening to see the wave of anti-Islam propaganda that has originated in our country. The Halal Vs Jhatka argument has become one such organised effort that seems designed to target a specific group of people.
What does Halal mean?
In the Quran, the world Halal(permissible) is contrasted with Haram(forbidden.) This term is particularly associated with Islamic dietary laws, especially about how the meat they eat is processed.
For the meat to be considered as Halal, the butcher has to make sure that he follows appropriate rituals and use a sharp knife to cut the carotid artery, jugular vein and windpipe in a single swipe while reciting the prayer Bismillah "in the name of God." This process ensures that all the blood and impurities in the meat are drained out.
Halal laws in India
Getting a Halal certificate is not mandatory in India. However, getting a certificate may bring better acceptance of your product to a certain segment of people. The Halal certificate also lets you use the Halal logo on your products so that you can export your goods to countries where it is mandatory.
Having a Halal certificate will only invite more customers to your establishment as Muslims don't have to worry about the kind of meat they are eating. This certificate is issued by private organisations such as Halal India and Jamiat Ulama-E-Hind which are affiliated with the government.
Halal Vs Jhatka: What's the difference?
Unlike Halal meat that lets the animal bleeds out, the Jhatka method refers to the instant severing of the head of an animal in a single strike made by an axe or a sword. The Jhatka method ensures that the animal is not shaken or scared in any way before the slaughter and that the animal has a quick painless death.
The Jhatka method is associated with Sikhism as it is an ancient Aaryan Sikh tradition to kill an animal in a single blow. Jhatka meat is sold in shops across India but bylaws make it mandatory to be labelled as Jhatka Meat.
Using food habits to fuel religious propaganda.
Radical people have taken over the internet with tweets and posts that turn Halal Vs Jhatka into Hindutva Vs Islam.
Recently, food delivery giant Zomato shut down a Hindu customer who cancelled his order because his rider was a Muslim. Thousands of Hindus took offence and decided to boycott the application. They even gave their mobile application negative reviews and got their rating down from 4.5 to 3.9 stars.
The same radical group came up with the idea of #HalalFreeIndia. They started targeting restaurants, food delivery apps and even chains like Mcdonalds by asking them if they are Halal certified.
Mcdonalds India replied to one such tweet and said that they have Halal certificates for all their restaurants and that was enough to spark another anti-Islam war on twitter.
Tweets such as these started showing up on #BoycottMcDonalds.