In November 2023, the issue of Halal certification on meat and meat-based food products as also other items including vegetarian food products came into spotlight, with the UP Government proposing to clamp down on this practice. The issue of Halal certification had highlighted the matter of unfair practices, sometimes even backed by unfair laws running in the country. And when these practices are professed, promoted and propagated by politicians, the issues become complicated and messy. In such circumstances, it becomes necessary to lay bare the principles of propriety and equality and review the popular practices which become controversial.
In the matter of foodstuffs which are a pure consumer item of basic necessity, the country’s 1.4 billion population is served by one set of laws and rules/regulations based thereon. It is commendable that the UP Government headed by Yogi Adityanath displayed clear understanding of the above fact while pronouncing the ban on Halal certification expressly on production, storage, distribution and sale of Halal certified food products within the state with exceptions only where such certification is required for export purposes.
The state government justified the ban by stating that such certification was not covered by Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 and hence illegal. The more significant matter is that reportedly the illegal provision of Halal certification was being misused by unscrupulous businessmen who were forging and faking the certificates.
It is noteworthy and rather absurd that the practice of Halal certification is being extended beyond just meat products—to restaurants, flats and even Ayurvedic drugs in the Kerala state of Bharat. And, as per credible media reports, the authorities of the community who have institutionalised this practice have made it mandatory for business entities giving Halal certification to reserve one third of their jobs for members of that community.
They, understandably, charge heavily for giving the certifications. Operated wholly by private agencies, this is a parallel regulatory system which is principally invalid because only the government has the power to regulate economic and other systems.
This practice adds to the cost of the items which is passed on to the unsuspecting consumers. Halal literally means ‘honestly produced or pure’. It is the prime responsibility of government to ensure honesty or purity in consumer product business and that prime responsibility cannot be assumed by any private agency. The only marking that seems fair on any food item is the mode of production in the context of raw meat. Barring this marking, no other certification in the nature of Halal seems proper and tenable.
Halal economy worldwide is worth USD 3 trillion and in India, its size is USD 100 billion or Rs. 8 lakh crores. The mere economic scale of the products covered by Halal certification is mind boggling. The Halal certification attaches the certified products to a specific community whose members derive huge economic gain from its production and trading, which in many cases is disproportionate to the worth of the products when seen in comparison with the value of other brands of similar products.
From the above, it is clear that Halal certification practice which is legally invalid is prevailing because of vested interests of politicians and the community members benefitting from it. This practice is apparently generating illegal business and is also creating wedges between communities. And if the allegation of the profit proceeds of Halal certified product businesses being used for anti national activities is true, the government of the day should be losing no time in putting its firm foot down on it.
Putting an institutional ban on the practice of Halal certification will benefit all members of the society and producers, traders and consumers of goods will not be indirectly labelled. This means that consumers will not buy goods on the basis of religious affiliations or predilections. The whole business ecosphere will be ‘secularised’. This is what is desirable and the government should take steps as suggested above to do it.
Bharat is a nation of sublime culture in which all are treated as equal children of the one almighty creator. We should align our institutions and social practices with this sublime culture.
We in Bharat have very short memories. The issue of putting a ban on Halal Certification practice in food products attracted lot of attention and discussion in the month of November, 2023 and many state governments where the practice is prevailing were urged by secular minded nationalists to discontinue it.
Activists organised seminars and symposiums and articles appeared in print media in this regard. But no murmur was heard on it for the next four months. Recently the ED has sought permission to register a case under the Money Laundering Act against the institutions distributing Halala certificates. It is alleged that these institutions had taken money and distributed certificates without any verification/investigation.
In our country, multihued issues crop up on weekly or monthly basis only to relegate older, more important issues to the background. Important issues need to be paid serious attention and activists must sincerely pursue their action plans to lay to rest illegal and anti-national practices. The nation counts utmost. We are all children of our motherland and our prime allegiance is towards preserving and promoting her larger interests.
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