Making the cut: New Delhi orders restaurants to display slaughter style or lose license
NEW DELHI: South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) officials said on Saturday that district restaurants risk losing their licenses if they fail to display the method of slaughter used for the meat served at their restaurants, even when commentators said to be similar to “food sharing.”
“Under the new rule, when restaurants get a license, they will have to write down what meat they will sell – halal or jhatka. We will cancel the license of restaurants that do not display the label, “Rajdutt Gahlot, the permanent president of SDMC, told Arab News on Saturday.
An order by the Bharatiya Janata (BJP) party-controlled SDMC follows in the third week of January this year, asking restaurants to label how meat was slaughtered.
In the halal or Islamic form of slaughter, the animals are killed by cutting through the jugular vein, carotid artery and trachea to ensure that all the blood is drained from the carcass.
In contrast, in the jhatka style of slaughter, the animal dies instantly after its head is cut in a single blow.
Gahlot said clear labeling of the slaughter technique is needed for non-halal meat consumers “who will not visit restaurants that sell such meat.”
“(In the same way), people looking for halal meat will not visit jhatka meat outlets and thus avoid congestion in restaurants,” he said.
The draft resolution adopted on December 24 by the SDMC said: “According to Hinduism and Sikhism, the consumption of halal meat is also forbidden against religion … Therefore, the committee decides that restaurants and butchers should be instructed to write about meat sold and served. of them … whether halal or jhatka meat is available there. ”
Gahlot confirmed to Arab News that the resolution “was adopted”, but declined to comment.
In August last year, the BJP-controlled East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) also adopted a similar order, with media reports suggesting that North Delhi could soon follow suit. New Delhi is divided into four areas.
There are more than 2,000 restaurants in the up-market SDMC area that serve nearly 3 million people. Over 80% of restaurants sell halal meat, as most of those involved in the meat trade come from the Muslim community.
The National Association of Indian Restaurants (NRAI) initially resisted the law enforcement movement.
However, he said he “does not anticipate significant changes in customers’ consumption patterns.”
“Currently, consumers enjoy the right to ask what kind of meat a restaurant serves and each restaurant is obliged to answer this question. The consumer decides accordingly, “said Neha Grover, NRAI’s marketing and communications manager.
“However, if there are significant changes in consumer demand, restaurants will adapt to it, as is the case with any other consumer preferences, depending on the availability of what consumers are looking for,” she added.
New Delhi restaurant owners, however, said they were “interested” in the SDMC movement, especially since “people don’t care if they eat halal or jhatka.”
“My customers have a hard time asking me if the meat they sell is halal or jhatka,” said Rajeev Kapoor of the popular South Delhi restaurant Rajendra Da Dhaba, adding that “he won’t mind displaying the label if it helps client”.
“The main concern of most customers is hygiene and freshness of meat. Even otherwise, we sell halal meat in our store, because most suppliers are Muslim, ”he said.
Alam Mahe, who runs a point of sale in South Delhi, agrees and said that although he “had no problems with the order”, his main concern was to “recover from the losses suffered during the pandemic-induced blockade”. ”.
On the other hand, Muslim meat traders have said they are “afraid” of the move.
“What is the need for such an order? Customers do not hesitate to ask about the label of the meat. I hope that this issue will not yet become a reason for the division of society, “said Fahim Ansari, a meat trader in the Jamia Nagar area of Delhi.
Since the BJP took power in Delhi in 2014, it has imposed a ban on beef. The slaughter of cows, a sacred animal for most Hindus, is banned and beef consumption is restricted in most Indian states.
There have been cases of lynching and dozens of people, mostly Muslims, have been killed after being accused of eating beef or slaughtering cows. Some BJP-controlled state governments have also restricted meat trade.
Commenting on the latest SDMC directive, Indian Express, a leading English newspaper in the country, questioned the BJP’s reason for adopting such a “divisive order”.
“The reason seems to be to pit people involved in the animal trade against each other. By marking the food served in accordance with the religion of those who provide it, the BJP-controlled SDMC is trying to share the food, “he said.
Former Delhi Minority Commission chief Dr. Zafarul Islam Khan agreed and called the move a “war on Muslims” and an attempt to economically “marginalize” Muslims.
“The decision of the BJP-controlled Delhi Municipal Corporation is part of an economic war against Muslims,” he told Arab News. “The BJP started with severe restrictions on the meat business shortly after it came to power in 2014. The leather business, also controlled by Muslims, was almost destroyed.”
Khan added that “writing halal on the billboards of meat shops and restaurants will mean that many Hindus and Sikhs will not deal with such shops. It may soon be replicated in other BJP-controlled states. ”
The idea, he said, is “the marginalization and impoverishment of Muslims” who traditionally control most of the meat business in the country.