Image: ETV Bharat
Dhanbad’s Randhir Verma Chowk saw the far right Hindutva organization Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) hit the street in a protest against ‘Halal certification’. It was joined in the demonstration by an organization called Halal Sakhti Virodhi Kriti Samiti (Action Committee against Forceful Halal). According to reports appearing in local news outlets, Shambhu Gavare of the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti said that an increasing demand for halal products in India is forcing Hindu business owners to get halal certification. He also said that while earlier the idea of halal was limited to meat products and export to Islamic countries, but now various products such as sugar, oil, flour, chocolate, sweets, cosmetics, medicines, etc. are also being halal certified in India. He went on to claim that when the Indian government certifies products through authorized bodies like FSSAI and FDA, halal certification should not be necessary.
According to an article on their website, office bearers of the HJS had also met the BJP’s Dhanbad MLA Raj Sinha on January 18th to talk about ‘Halal’. The report quotes the MLA‘s saying, ‘I will send a statement to the central government and demand an investigation. Also, I will try to create awareness about Halal certification in the society’.
The protest is the latest in a long, concerted effort by the Hindu Janjagriti Samiti to put the issue of Halal certificate or ‘Halal Jihad’ as it prefers to call it on Hindutva’s national outrage map.
What is Halal?
Halal certification is a process of verifying that a product or service is in accordance with Islamic dietary laws. It certifies that the food, drink, or other consumer goods have been produced, processed, and/or prepared in a manner that is permissible under Islamic law. The criteria for halal certification includes, among others, that the food should not contain any pork or alcohol, and that it should be prepared according to certain slaughter and handling practices.
India does not have a mandatory halal certification system in India since it does not have a national regulation for the certification. However, certification is undertaken in India through private organizations like Halal India Pvt Ltd and Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Halal Trust for a fee. Since the International (and domestic) market for products marked ‘Halal’ has increased, many entrepreneurs see an opportunity in voluntarily seeking Halal certificates for their products.
But that has not stopped the far right from raising the bogey of ‘Halal’ giving rise to concerns that this is yet another pretext to demonize India’s minorities.
A concerted effort to spread outrage against Halal certification
It seems that the far right Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) is attempting a mainstream makeover by increasing its visibility through street protests on right wing hot button issues. Members of HJS and its sister organization Sanatan Sanstha have been charged with the murder of journalists and rationalists like Gauri Lankesh, MM Kalburgi, Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare. That these protests are often attended by BJP leaders is a sign of increasing legitimacy of the hitherto ‘fringe’ HJS and its sister organization, the shadowy Sanatan Sanstha.
The anti-Halal protest was kickstarted last October when the HJS led a protest outside KFC and Mc Donals in Bangalore demanding that non muslims be served non halal products. But the issue was raised vehemently by right wing accounts on social media last March. While it did not find any resonance on ground, politicians in Karnataka including the Chief Minister were quick to weigh in. BJP’s general secretary, CT Ravi, known for his hate speeches, predictably christened it ‘Economic Jihad’.
Since then, there has been a concerted attempt to give the anti-‘Halal’ protests a widespread character. A book titled ‘Halal Jihad’ written by Ramesh Shinde, national spokesperson of HJS was launched at IIC, in the heart of Delhi, on September 7, 2022.
#Halal_Jihad book launch written by Shri. Ramesh Shinde @Ramesh_hjs at #IIC India International Centre in #Delhi
By (from left) – @KapilMishra_IND, @SureshChavhanke, @Ramesh_hjs, @Vishnu_Jain1Let’s pledge to spread the word through this book !#IndianEconomy #HinduRashtra pic.twitter.com/BjnY2QjrQ9
— HJS_Delhi-NCR (@HJS_Delhi) September 7, 2022
The launch was attended by Kapil Mishra, Suresh Chavhanke and Advocate Vishnu Jain of ‘Gyanvapi’ fame.
It has since made an appearance in the speeches of VHP functionaries in Rajasthan. BJP’s Goshamahal MLA Raja Singh brought up the issue of Halal at the HJS led ‘Hindu Jan Akrosh Morcha’ in Mumbai on the 29th of January in a speech so hateful that the Supreme Court of India had to order a videographing of the next HJS rally. In October last year HJS submitted a memorandum to none other than Mr CT Ravi himself.
The HJS lays down its thoughts on the issue of ‘Halal’ with considerable clarity on its website. The page lists the forceful advocacy that the HJS has launched against ‘Halal certification’.
From lobbying with state government ministers like AK Sharma in Uttar Pradesh to launching books with rabble rousers like Suresh Chavhanke and Kapil Mishra, to administering an oath to thousands of ‘Dhara tirth yatris’ with Shambaji Bhide to not consume ‘Halal’ products, the HJS seems to have their hands full in their battle against Halal.
पू. संभाजी भिडेगुरुजी यांच्या उपस्थितीत ५० सहस्र धारकर्यांचा हलाल उत्पादने न घेण्याचा निर्धार !
श्री शिवप्रतिष्ठान हिंदुस्थानच्या धारातीर्थ यात्रेत @manojkhadyehjs यांच्या #BoycottHalalProducts आवाहनाला उत्स्फूर्त प्रतिसाद pic.twitter.com/la8BvBtNd7
— HinduJagrutiOrg (@HinduJagrutiOrg) January 31, 2023
Dhara Tirth yatras are fort ‘walks’ organized by Shiv Prathisthan’s Shambaji Bhide in Western Maharashtra, a traditional Congress stronghold.
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Hindu activists begin door-to-door campaign against halal products in Karnataka