“When they
(Muslims) think halal meat should be used, what is wrong with saying it should
not be used,” says CT Ravi, the national secretary of the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) on the halal meat controversy, a row over how animals should be
slaughtered, which almost immediately follows the hijab row. Karnataka, the
state that hosts India’s information technology capital Bengaluru, is going
through a rough phase in terms of communal harmony.

Last week, in
Karnataka’s Shivamogga district, 15 Bajrang Dal activists walked into a chicken
shop asking for non-halal meat. Denied, they roughed up the shopkeeper. A
hotelier too was assaulted for using halal meat, according to the police, who
have arrested five activists of the right-wing group.

“Halal is an
economic jehad. It means that it is used like a jehad, so that Muslims should
not do business with others. It has been imposed,” the BJP national secretary
tells reporters.

What is
halal?

Halal is an Arabic
word which means ‘fit for consumption’. The word is usually used to define the
Islamic way of slaughtering animals. Halal involves killing through a cut
through the jugular vein, carotid artery and windpipe.

Also Read | What, where and why of Karnataka hijab row: All you need to know

The animals being
slaughtered must be alive and healthy and all blood from the carcass must be
drained. While slaughtering, a Muslim is expected to recite the ‘shahada’, a
dedication.

What’s the
controversy all about?

Right wing groups
in Karnataka such as the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti first stirred up the row when
they called for a ban on Ugadi, a harvest festival celebrated across southern
India. This year Ugadi was celebrated on April 2. The day following Ugadi,
called ‘varshadodaku’ is a day when many Hindus offer meat to Gods and eat it
themselves.

The right-wing
groups called for a ban on halal meat as they said that since halal meat is
offered to Allah the same cannot be offered to Hindu gods.

What’s the row
doing to Karnataka’s social fabric?

Flaring up of
communal tensions is becoming increasingly common in Karnataka. Only weeks ago,
the state saw a massive flare-up over the government’s order banning the hijab
in educational institutions. The Karnataka High Court later went on to rule in
favour of the ban saying the hijab is not an essential religious practice.

Kiran Mazumdar
Shaw, chief of Biocon, an Indian biopharmaceutical company, tweeted on March 30:
“Karnataka has always forged inclusive economic development and we must not
allow such communal exclusion.” She went on to request Karnataka Chief Minister
Basavaraj Bommai to “please resolve this growing religious divide.”

Bommai, on the
other hand, has called for “restraint before going public on social issues.” “My
appeal to all concerned is that we have been living with our beliefs all these
years. Everyone should cooperate in maintaining law and order. Karnataka is
known for peace and progress, and everyone should observe restraint.

HD Kumaraswamy,
the leader of the opposition, said, “It is the responsibility of the government
to protect all 6 crores 50 lakh people in the state. It’s their duty to protect
all communities. They cannot run the government by only looking after one
community.”

Rahul Gandhi, Congress
leader and member of Parliament, said India was in dire need of learning
brotherhood and eradicating hatred as taught by 12th Century social
reformer Basaveshwara.