UP Government Bans the Sale of Halal-Certified Products with an Eye on the 2024 General Elections
By Syed
Ali Mujtaba, New Age Islam
20
November, 2023
The
Uttar Pradesh government bans halal products to bring the Muslim factor into politics,
aiming to consolidate Hindu votes ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election. The UP
government has deemed Halal certification confusing and unenforceable under
Section 89 of the Food Law. A police case accuses a company and organizations
of exploiting religious sentiments with forged certificates, while the Jamiat
Ulama-i-Hind Halal Trust denies the allegations.
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Main
Points
· The UP-government order deems Halal
certification as a parallel system that confuses food quality and is not
tenable under Section 89 of the Food Law Food Safety and Standards Act.
· A police case has been filed against a
company and some organizations for allegedly exploiting religious sentiments by
providing forged halal certificates to boost sales.
· Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Halal Trust denies
allegations, stating they will take legal action to counter misinformation.
· Halal foods are those produced,
processed, and stored using clean machinery and utensils in accordance with
Islamic law, free from prohibited components that Muslims are forbidden to
consume.
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In an
attempt to bring the Muslim factor back into political circulation, the Uttar
Pradesh government has banned products with a halal tag, with immediate effect.
The move is seen as another dice-throw by the BJP in India’s highly populated
state to consolidate the Hindu vote bank ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
The
UP-government order says, “Halal certification of food products is a parallel system
which creates confusion regarding the quality of food items and is not tenable
under Section 89 of the Food Law Food Safety and Standards Act.”
"The
right to decide the quality of food items lies only with the authorities and
institutions given in Section 29 of the said Act, who check the relevant
standards as per the provisions of the Act", the government order added.
The
move comes after a police case was filed against a company and a few other
organizations for allegedly "exploiting people's religious
sentiments" to boost sales by providing "forged" halal
certificates.
The
complainant raised concerns over a large-scale conspiracy, indicating attempts
to allegedly decrease the sale of products from companies lacking the halal
certificate, which is illegal, the UP government said.
The
case has been registered against Halal India Private Limited Chennai, Jamiat
Ulama-i-Hind Halal Trust Delhi, Halal Council of India Mumbai, Jamiat Ulama
Maharashtra, and others.
“These
companies allegedly issued forged halal certificates to various companies for
financial gains, fostering not only social animosity but also violating public
trust,” the G.O. said.
Responding
to the UP government to ban Halal-Certified Products, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Halal
Trust, in a statement, termed the allegations as "baseless" and said
it will take "necessary legal measures to counter such
misinformation".
What
is Halal certification - Halal is an Arabic word that means permissible -- as
opposed to 'haram'. Halal-certified products are those that have apparently met
the requirements of Islamic law and are suitable for the consumption of
Muslims.
Halal
certification is a guarantee that the food is prepared in accordance with
Islamic law and is unadulterated. If a product contains animals or animal
by-products that are considered prohibited under Islamic law, then it cannot
receive a halal certification.
Specifically,
halal foods are those that are made, produced, manufactured, processed, and
stored using machinery, equipment, and/or utensils that have been cleaned
according to Islamic law and are free from any component that Muslims are
prohibited from eating.
Halal
meat meant the meat which has been procured through the process permitted in
Islam. The animal has to be slaughtered through the throat, oesophagus, and
jugular veins but not the spinal cord -- as opposed to the Jhatka method of
slaughtering an animal where the neck gets the blow.
Halal
certification is not limited to meat, even some cosmetics have halal
certification to denote that they don't contain any 'haram' products like
alcohol, pig fat, etc.
India’s
commerce ministry issued a draft guideline early this year on halal
certification. The National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies
(NABCB), and the Quality Council of India have given approval for Halal
certificates.
The
UP-government’s move has come with an eye on the 2024 general election to
consolidate the Hindu vote bank. The Hindutva elements have been making the
noise about the halal certification ban for a long time. It was part of their
agenda along with checking love jihad and anti-conversion activities.
This
move by the UP government can also be seen as a ploy to control the dietary
habits of the Muslims which is anti-constitution. Certainly, this order will be
contested in the courts but by the time, any relief comes through, much water
may have flown under the bridge of river Gomti.
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Syed
Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba2007@gmail.com
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