On December 14, Karnataka Legislative Council Member N Ravikumar sought permission to introduce a private bill during the upcoming winter session of the assembly seeking a ban on Halal certification issued by several Muslim organisations. Notably, Halal certification is not limited to meat products but has expanded its reach to vegetarian food products, cosmetics, medicines, and construction businesses.
Ravikumar is the state general secretary of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In a statement on December 14, he said that several organisations charge money for issuing the certification without any authorisation. Notably, the word Halal is Arabic, which translates to “permissible”. It is in contrast to Haram, which translates to “forbidden”. Any food or product is Halal only if it is prepared as per Islamic law.
Ravikumar added, “The Halal certification, which was earlier restricted to meat, has now been extended to various products like cosmetic goods, and food items, among other things.” Furthermore, he questioned, “The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is the government agency which gives the certification. But who permitted these Muslim organisations to certify halal products? They are not a certified authority to do this. They charge lakhs of rupees to give halal certification. Where does this money go?”
He added that the private bill he plans to introduce in the legislature would seek amendments to the Food and Safety Standards Act 2006. Ravikumar said it would help the government to take action against the illegal certification.
India has no legal body to give Halal certification like Arab countries. The certification in India is obtained on a voluntary basis by the businesses. Several private bodies are comprised of Muslim clerics, religious groups and others who provide such certifications.
Notably, Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) has been raising voices against Halal certification for a long time. They recently announced that the organisation would restart a state-wide campaign against the certification. On Tuesday, the members of HJS reportedly met several leaders of the BJP and submitted a memorandum seeking a law to ban the certification. The leaders who HJS approached included National Secretary of BJP CT Ravi and State Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar.
Mohan Gowda, the spokesperson of HJS, said in a statement, “In the name of halal certification and religion, there is a huge conspiracy and mafia to sell halal products across India. Muslim organisations are collecting crores of rupees using halal certification, and the money is being used for anti-national activities.”
He added, “This why we are giving our memorandum to all the legislators, including the chief minister and the home minister, to ban halal products. In the upcoming Winter Session, the halal products should be banned, and the state government should bring in a Bill in this regard.” Calling the certification illegal, he questioned the usage of money collected in the name of Halal certification.
Furthermore, the Ugadi festival is only three months away. Keeping it in mind, the organisation has sought a ban on Halal meat and urged Hindus to ban Halal-certified products. The organisation alleged that the money collected for certification was used for “anti-national activities”.
In a statement, CT Ravi said, “They submitted a memorandum yesterday. I will talk to the chief minister, and then we will decide this. We don’t identify Halal certification in our country. But it is recognised in some other countries. We will have a discussion and then take a call.” Notably, in a previous statement, CT Ravi linked Halal to “economic jihad”. In April this year, he said, “It means that it is used like a jihad so that Muslims should not do business with others. It has been imposed. When they think halal meat should be used, what is wrong in saying it should not be used?”
What is Halal certification?
Halal is a method of slaughter and packaging of meat that is in tune with Islamic sensibilities and religious practices. Halal can only be performed by a Muslim man. Thus, non-Muslims are automatically denied employment at a Halal firm. There are certain other conditions that must be fulfilled that makes it quite clear that it is intrinsically an Islamic practice. Guidelines are available on the official website of a certification authority of Halal in India which makes it clear that non-Muslim employees cannot be employed in any part of the slaughtering process.
