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NEW DELHI: South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) officials said on Saturday that restaurants in the neighborhood risk losing their licenses if they do not show the slaughter method used for animal meat served in their restaurants, even though commentators said the move was akin to “communalizing food.”

“Under the new rule, when restaurants acquire a license, they will have to write down what meat they will sell – halal or jhatka. We will cancel the license of restaurants that do not display the label, ”said Rajdutt Gahlot, permanent president of SDMC on Saturday.

It follows an order passed by the ruling SDMC, controlled by the Bharatiya Janata (BJP) party, in the third week of January this year, asking restaurants to label how the meat was slaughtered.

In the form of halal or Islamic slaughter, animals are killed by cutting through the jugular vein, carotid artery, and trachea, to ensure that all blood is drained from the carcass.

In contrast, in the style of jhatka slaughter, the animal dies instantly after severing its head with a single blow.

Gahlot said clear labeling of the slaughter technique was needed for consumers of non-Halal meat “who will not visit restaurants selling this meat.”

“(Likewise) people looking for halal meat will not visit jhatka meat outlets and thus avoid crowds in restaurants,” he said.

The draft resolution adopted on December 24 by the SDMC said: “According to Hinduism and Sikhism, the consumption of halal meat is prohibited and contrary to religion … Therefore, the committee decides that restaurants and butchers should necessarily write on the meat sold and served by them … that halal or jhatka meat is available. “

Gahlot confirmed to Arab News that the resolution “has been passed,” but declined to comment on the matter.

In August last year, the BJP-controlled East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) also passed a similar ordinance, with media suggesting that North Delhi may soon follow suit. New Delhi is divided into four zones.

There are over 2,000 restaurants in the upscale SDMC area serving nearly 3 million people. Over 80 percent of restaurants sell halal meat as most of the people involved in the meat trade are from the Muslim community.

The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) initially resisted the decision to impose the order.

However, he said he “does not anticipate any significant change in the pattern of customer consumption.”

“Consumers currently have the right to ask what kind of meat a restaurant serves, and every restaurateur is obligated to answer that question. The consumer decides accordingly, ”said Neha Grover, marketing and communications manager at NRAI.

“However, if there are significant changes in consumer demand, restaurants will adapt to them as they do with all other consumer preferences, subject to the availability of what consumers are looking for,” a- she added.

Restaurant owners in New Delhi, however, said they were “intrigued” by the SDMC’s decision, especially since “people don’t care whether they eat halal or jhatka meat.”

“My customers hardly ask me if the meat I sell is halal or jhatka,” said Rajeev Kapoor of popular South Delhi restaurant Rajendra Da Dhaba, adding that he “won’t mind displaying the label. if that helps the customer. “

“The main concern of most customers is the hygiene and freshness of the meat. Even otherwise, we sell halal meat in our store because most of the suppliers are Muslim, ”he said.

Alam Mahe, who runs an outlet in South Delhi agrees and said that while he “had no problem with the order” his main concern was “to recover from the losses suffered during the pandemic-induced lockdown ”.

On the other hand, Muslim meat traders said they were “worried” about the move.

“What is the need for such an order? Customers hardly ask about the meat label. I hope this problem will not become another reason for division in society, ”said Fahim Ansari, a meat trader in Delhi’s Jamia Nagar region.

Since the BJP took power in Delhi in 2014, it has imposed a ban on beef. The slaughter of cows, a sacred animal to the majority of Hindus, is prohibited and the consumption of beef is restricted in most Indian states.

There have been cases of lynching and dozens of people, mostly Muslims, have been killed after being accused of eating beef or slaughtering cows. Some state governments controlled by the BJP have also clamped down on the meat trade.

Commenting on the latest SDMC directive, the Indian Express, one of the country’s leading English newspapers, questioned the motives of the BJP in adopting such a “division order”.

“The motive seems to be to pit those involved in the animal trade against each other. By labeling the food served according to the religion of those providing it, the SDMC, controlled by the BJP, is trying to communalize the food, ”he said.

The former head of the Delhi Minorities Commission, Dr Zafarul Islam Khan, accepted and called the decision a “war on Muslims” and an attempt to economically “marginalize” Muslims.

“The decision of the Delhi Municipal Corporation controlled by the BJP is part of an economic war against Muslims,” he told Arab News. “The BJP started with severe restrictions on the meat trade soon after coming to power in 2014. The trade in skins, also controlled by Muslims, was nearly ruined.

Khan added that “writing halal on the signs of meat shops and restaurants will mean that many Hindus and Sikhs will not deal with such shops. It may soon be replicated in other states controlled by the BJP. “

The idea, he said, is to “marginalize and impoverish Muslims” who traditionally control most of the meat trade in the country.