New Delhi: With the ongoing crackdown on slaughterhouses across Uttar Pradesh (UP), Muslims, who form the bulk of the meat industry’s capitalists and workers, feel targeted in the state.
“The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is taking revenge on Muslims after the victory in the state legislative assembly election. Only Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath knows what he has in his mind and why he is targeting the entire Muslim community,” Mohammad Asif Khan, whose chicken shop has been shut as a result of crackdown, told Gulf News.
Many feel that the police is not raiding restaurants in Hindu-dominated areas.
“Are the rules meant only for Muslims? It is not an attack on meat, it is an attack on Muslim community as a whole. It is an attack on our livelihood. The meat industry gives employment to so many Muslims and the current government does not want that,” said Shakil Ahmed, owner of a licensed meat shop in UP capital Lucknow.
Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan on Monday demanded a ban on cow slaughter all across India and asked Muslims to stop eating beef.
“Cow slaughter should be banned across the country. Why is it so that it is legal in states like Kerala and West Bengal but not in other states,” he said adding that all slaughterhouses should be closed.
“Does it mean that it is OK if animals are butchered in legal slaughterhouses and not OK when they meet the same fate at an illegal place. This legal, illegal thing should stop. All slaughterhouses should be shut. No animal should be slaughtered,” Khan told media.
He stated that the ulema (religious scholars) should appeal to the Muslim community to stop eating meat.
“Many people of other religions like Jains do not eat meat due to sensitive issues. If Muslims stop eating beef, it should not harm anyone as it is not written anywhere in our religious texts to eat meat. Ulema should appeal to the people that they should stop eating meat,” Khan emphasised.
Sirajuddin Qureshi, Chairman of Hind Group, which owns two buffalo meat-processing units in UP, said the state government should ensure that the organised sector is not targeted.
“We are not bothered if the orders are just about shutting down illegal slaughterhouses. But there must be adequate clarity and communication so that the organised sector is not targeted,” he said.
“The government should introduce a system to let those who operate without licences apply for one if they comply with requirements. So many illegal slaughterhouses have come up across Uttar Pradesh as there are hardly any government-owned facilities,” he added.
Kanpur-based Rustam Foods is also feeling the heat.
“The suppliers of buffalo meat are mostly Muslim and they are scared. They apprehend harassment if they bring supplies to us. The government should ensure that the crackdown is fair and does not affect a particular community,” owner of Rustam Foods Saleem Qureshi told Gulf News.
The bulk of the buffalo meat processed in the state is exported. According to Agricultural and Processed Food Product Export Development Authority, the state has around 180 buffalo meat-processing units.
“It is clear that the meat industry is being targeted. No other industry is scrutinised by the state government so minutely. One needs 24 licences and no objection certificates to run a slaughterhouse in UP. Even if one is not there, the government is using the excuse to close the plant,” secretary general of All India Meat and Livestock Exporters’ Association DB Sabharwall told Gulf News.
