VSK TN
Recently, a bakery owner in Chennai was arrested and released with warning for his bakery advertisement poster, in which he is alleged to have discriminated against one particular community. On plain seeing the material in dispute, anyone would tend to believe the narrative of discrimination.
But as we dig deeper into the issue, one can notice that the original advertisement poster released by the owner does not have any such disclaimer.
It was a response given by bakery owner to the queries raised by his customers about the mode of preparation and people involved in preparation. It goes without saying that the concern expressed by the customers was also a fallout of various instances of a particular community people spitting on the fruits, urinating on the vegetables, putting hands inside the milk cans, licking the bread, etc. Hence, it is very evident that it is not a case of discrimination at all.
It is found that Rizwan Nizami, a Delhi High Court Lawyer had photo-shopped the original image which had no word ‘No Muslim Staff’. Advocate Chandi Shah had filed a complaint with Delhi Police against Rizwan Nizami for alleged spreading of fake news thus defaming Jain Bakery and Confectioneries in Chennai and promoting enmity on the basis of religion.
However, the blessing in disguise is that this issue (coupled with the issue of Jamshedpur police taking action against a fruit vendor for his “Hindu Fruit Shop” banner), has kicked off a debate on “Halal” Certification.
Halal Certification is not a mere document to certify non-vegetarian products being prepared in a particular way as mentioned the doctrine of a particular community. This issue has got ramifications in two fronts – Socio-cultural aspect and Socio-economic aspect.
If a product need to be Halal certified, the company which manufactures the product need to apply for certification with one of the Halal Certification bodies. The fee for certification for each product is around Rs 50,000/= per annum. If the company has 10 products, then the fee to be paid for Halal Certification is Rs 5.0 L per annum. The common public is not sure whether the revenue thus generated is getting used for various “religious” activities including proselytization and Jihad.
The companies that get certified need to ensure that the raw materials used for preparation of the final products is also Halal Certified. Which means the down-stream supply chain also need to be Halal Certified. This is not all.
The products that are getting Halal certified need to be prepared by Muslims, who know the sharia law pertaining to Halal.
Hence, the doubt that occurs in the minds of the common public is that whether this is a sinister plan to capture an entire industry and hold it to ransom in future for achieving various theological objectives.
It is not only an issue of choice of food, but much larger and dangerous than what meets the eye.
The saddest part is that this Halal Certification racket has crept in so much that even in Air India (A public sector undertaking), the food served onboard is Halal certified. If a passenger wants to escape this straight jacketing, he or she has no choice. Which would effectively mean that all are forced to eat food prepared in a particular religious manner, which may or may not be in compliance with his / her religious belief.
The racket which started with meat industry, has now spread its fangs in vegetarian foods (Halal rice, Halal atta, what not!) and slowly entering into Ayurveda products and even Apartments.
Hence, it is not a matter of vegetarian or non-vegetarian, but it is a matter of one particular community’s plot to take over an entire industry and deprive livelihood for people belonging to other communities.
Hindus need to be sensitized of all this. That definitely can be done.