The Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to ban the sale of halal certified products has sparked a fresh controversy. While the opposition parties call the move “BJP’s yet another attempt to divide the society”, some support the decision, saying people don’t need any third party issuing a halal certificate.
The certification row began with Lucknow’s Hazratganj Police Station when an FIR was registered against four organisations, their owners, managers and others on November 17, accusing them of extorting money in the name of halal certification and for promoting enmity in the name of religion and funding terror outfits. The FIR was registered on the complaint of the city-based social worker Shailendra Kumar Sharma, who hails from Aishbagh in Lucknow.
In the FIR, the complainant had accused Halal India Pvt Ltd of Chennai, Jamiat Ulama Hind Halal Trust of Delhi, Halal Counselling of India and Jamiat Ulama of Mumbai, Maharashtra, as well as some unidentified people of extorting money in the name of halal certification.
“The FIR was registered under Indian Penal Code sections 153-A for promoting enmity between two groups on the ground of religion, 420 for fraud, 467 for forging documents, 468 for using forged documents for cheating, 471 for using forged documents as genuine, 384 for extorting money and 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 298 for statements with the deliberate intention of wounding the religious feelings of any person and 505 for statements conducing public mischief,” said Ajeet Kumar Singh, Sub Inspector (SI) who has been appointed as investigation officer (IO), to investigate the matter.
UP Government’s Decision
On November 18, a day after the FIR, the government banned the production, storage, distribution and sale of the halal certified products. However, the government kept the export products out of the purview of the ban. “Strict legal action will be taken against an individual or firm engaged in the production, storage, distribution, buying and selling of halal certified medicines, medical devices and cosmetics within Uttar Pradesh,” said Anita Singh, commissioner Food Safety and Drug Administration, UP Govt in a ban order dated November 18.
Move Sparks a Fresh Row
Ajay Rai, Uttar Pradesh Congress chief, has blamed the Yogi Adityanath government it for dividing the society on the lines of religion. “It is purely an attempt to divert people’s attention from the other grave issues,” said Rai. Not only Congress, Samajwadi Party (SP) too took a dig at BJP for its decision and called it an anti-trade decision. “It’s a decision that will affect the economy. It is an anti-trade decision, also it is an attempt to polarise voters ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha Polls,” said IP Singh, spokesperson SP, UP.
UP Clerics Divided
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has opposed the ban while others support it. “As per Islamic law, there are restrictions on certain things which could not be eaten. Halal certificates make it easy for the Muslim community to buy Sharia compliant food products that are permitted in the religion,” said Qasim Rasool Iliyas, AIMPLB spokesperson.
Maulana Saif from Lucknow backed the government and said third parties, which issue halal tags should also be banned. He said ‘halal’ and ‘jhatka’, the two words, were only meant for meat and not for any other product.
The clerics from Barelvi sect are supporting the ban. Maulana Shahbuddin, who hails from Bareilly district, said halal certification should not be for anything except meat. “It is wrong to put halal tags on other products.”
A senior journalist, M Tariq Khan, from Lucknow, said that the brouhaha over ‘halal certification’ is nothing new. A handful of right-wingers seem to have taken a leaf out from their counterparts in Kerala where a similar campaign was orchestrated in 2020 but it petered out. “There is widespread misunderstanding of the term ‘halal’. For products like cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, health products and toiletries, a halal certification simply clarifies that the item does not contain pig fat. It also means that the product is safe and unadulterated. The misunderstanding is being used in divisive posts, such as in this instance, to imply that a food item with halal certification is ‘unfit’ for Hindu consumption.”
A senior advocate S Mohammed Haider from Lucknow called the controversy “absolutely misconceived”. “The certification from the organisations, which are issuing these certificates identifying certain products as Halal or Not Halal are neither needed nor required as they do not carry any legal mandate, and our Holy Book is the only guide which needs to be referred to in case any such need arises.”
Meanwhile, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind Halal Trust has stated that it had a valid certificate on halal and authorisation from the commerce ministry. It said halal certificates were being issued with transparency and honesty and such allegations are ‘baseless’. “We adhere to government regulations, as emphasised in the ministry of commerce and industry notification, requiring all halal certification bodies to be registered by NABCB (National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies under the Quality Council of India),” said CEO of Trust, Niaz A Farooqui.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind Halal Trust was one of the four halal certification issuing bodies that was named in the FIR lodged in Hazratganj police station.
The UP Police has handed over the case to the state police’s Special Task Force (STF).
What is Halal Certification?
Halal certification is a guarantee that the product is prepared in accordance with Islamic law and is unadulterated. In India, the halal certificate is issued by a third party body unlike in Arab countries where a magistrate grants the halal certificate.
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