Hindu campaigns to criminalize the “Halal” mark

Hindu groups in India have recently launched intensive campaigns to prevent placing the “Halal” mark on food products, claiming that this mark threatens the security and safety of the people, India’s economy and its secular system.

Officials from the Hindu “Janajagruti Samiti ” organization organized several visits to politicians in the Indian state government of Karnataka, and presented them with memorandums asking them to support a bill presented by Hindu MP N. Ravikumar, imposing a ban on certifying halal foods in the state.

MP Ravikumar has proposed a bill in the state House of Representatives, which calls for a ban on food certification by any institution other than the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.

According to Indian media, the law that Ravikumar will propose aims primarily to prohibit the certification of food products for Muslims with the “Halal” label, which is what Islamic institutions in India do.

Ravikumar told the “The Indian Express” that the Hindu organizations plan to legislate a legal clause under the article “Food Safety and Standards”, which prohibits the approval of halal foods “by unauthorized agencies,” he said.

Ravikumar claimed that Islamic institutions that produce halal food do not have the authority to certify food products, and that they aim through their work to “control the market”.

The American Indian Islamic Council condemned the campaigns of Hindu organizations to ban halal food and boycott the shops that offer it, especially in the state of Karnataka. The council said that the Hindus falsely claim that these products are against their economy.