'Halal' or 'jhatka'? Punjab govt advised to make eateries disclose meat category
The National Commission for Minorities chairman noted that hotels and restaurants in Punjab are only serving halal meat only which is prohibited in the Sikh religion.
The National Commission for Minorities on Thursday directed the Punjab government to make hotels, restaurants and other eateries mandatorily disclose whether the meat they are serving is ‘halal’ or ‘jhatka’, the two most common ways of slaughtering animals or poultry in India. NCM Chairman Iqbal Singh Lalpura wrote to Punjab's chief secretary Anirudh Tewari directing him to advise all eateries to disclose the ‘category’ of the meat served by them.
Lalpura noted that hotels and restaurants in Punjab are only serving halal meat which is prohibited in the Sikh religion. He said the mandatory disclosure would allow people to make an informed choice before they consume the meat.
"Accordingly, all hotels/restaurants may be advised to mandatorily disclose the category of the meat whether it is 'jhatka' butchering meat or 'halal' butchering meat at all eating joints to allow the public to make an informed choice before consumption," the letter read.
“An early action in the matter shall be highly appreciated,” the NCM chief added.
What is Kerala's 'halal' food controversy? Explained
The word ‘Halal’, in Arabic, literally means permissible and Halal food is that which adheres to Islamic law, as defined in the Koran.
In the Halal form of slaughter, animals or poultry are killed by severing the major veins, arteries and windpipe without decapitation and are left till the blood drains out completely. According to the UK-based Halal Food Authority, an animal or poultry should be dead before slaughter and any flowing blood of the carcass should be completely drained.
In the jhatka method, the animal is killed instantaneously.
Earlier this year, a similar order was issued by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC).
(With PTI inputs)
