Smt Thushara, who had on January 15, 2021, opened an exclusive non-halal restaurant in the Ernakulam district in Kerala has been brutally assaulted on Monday, October 25. The woman, herself, went live on Facebook from the hospital bed to inform about the attack on her.
Smt Thushara served only non-halal food at her restaurant called Nandus Kitchen in Palarivattom. During the inauguration of her eatery, she had placed a banner outside her eatery which reads “No Halal, Halal Bakshanam Nishidham” (Halal food is banned here). She had then revealed that since inception, many Muslims have taken offence to her idea of running a non-halal restaurant.
Smt Tushara’s daughter also shared a video of her mother being taken to the hospital in an ambulance and shared how she was mercilessly assaulted by some miscreants.
According to a local news report, the lady who was in the process of opening her restaurant’s second branch today was assaulted near the eatery in Techo Park.
The report suggests that Thushara was receiving threats from Islamists for opening the second branch of her non-halal restaurant, just like she did when her first branch opened, for the past one week. The Islamists were warning her against placing a non-Halal board in front of her restaurant.
Smt Tushara also claimed in a Facebook live that the incident was motivated by her restaurant’s decision to serve non-halal food and to place a poster about the same outside her establishment.
Condemning the attack, K Surendran, the state president of BJP Kerala Tweeted: “Strongly condemn the attack against Smt.Thushara Ajith. A group of Muslim fanatics brutally attacked the woman entrepreneur due to non-compliance of Halal in her hotel. What happened in Kakkanad is nothing less than Talibanism. I urge the people of Kerala to reject Halal Invasion”.
Strongly condemn the attack against Smt.Thushara Ajith. A group of Muslim fanatics brutally attacked the woman entrepreneur due to non-compliance of Halal in her hotel. What happened in Kakkanad is nothing less than Talibanism. I urge the people of Kerala to reject #HalalInvasion
— K Surendran (@surendranbjp) October 25, 2021
Another Twitter user going by the handle @lotophagus wrote: “Thushara Ajith started the first ever Non-halal hotel in Kerala last year. Today she’s in the hospital, beaten up by Jihadis for trying to open a 2nd branch”. According to the Twitter user, Kerala police are attempting to apprehend Smt Tushara after restaurant employees retaliated in self-defence against the miscreants.
“She was told that she must not keep a no-halal board or serve pork, as Kakkanad is “their” area. The police is blaming her & staff for creating unrest by insisting on such a “sensitive” thing”, @lotophagus wrote in her subsequent Tweet.
She was told that she must not keep a no-halal board or serve pork, as Kakkanad is “their” area. The police is blaming her & staff for creating unrest by insisting on such a “sensitive” thing.
— Padma Pillai (@lotophagus) October 25, 2021
Is pork banned in Kerala? Not officially, but..
Controversies over Halal meat in Kerala
The state of Kerala has been marred by a controversy over halal meat. In January this year, a bakery in Kerala, called ‘Mody’, was allegedly forced to remove the ‘Halal’ sticker notifying the availability of Halal food following opposition by Hindu Aikya Vedi activists. As per reports, the matter began after the organisation’s Parakkadavu unit president Arun Aravind and a few others visited the bakery for food and insisted on non-halal food. However, they were informed that only halal food was served.
The notice went viral on social media following which the police stepped in and arrested Aravind and three others. A case has been registered against the four and they were later released on bail.
Ahead of Christmas last year, Christians in Kerala called for a boycott of halal meat. Kochi based Christian group Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA) urged Christians not to buy Halal food anymore. Hindu groups also extended their support for the call to boycott stating that they are forced to sell Halal meat in the state.
