Backlash after local authorities in India ban meat sales on Independence Day
At least four municipal bodies in the western state of Maharashtra and one in Telangana have ordered all slaughterhouses and meat shops to remain closed for 24 hours on Friday. India will celebrate 78 years of independence from British colonial rule on 15 August.
Meat bans during Hindu festivals have become routine practice in many northern states of India under prime minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party-led (BJP) government. However, the controversial bans are mostly limited to religious festivals.
National Family Health Survey data published in 2022 revealed that in more than half of India's 30 states and union territories, above 90 per cent of the population consumed meat and fish. A Registrar General of India survey in 2014 found 70 per cent of people in India eat meat.
Civic bodies in Maharashtra 's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Kalyan-Dombivli, Malegaon and Nagpur regions are among those being criticised for banning the sale of meat during a secular holiday, a move which also brought reproach from the state's deputy chief minister.
Ajit Pawar, whose faction of the Nationalist Congress Party forms a coalition government with the BJP in Maharashtra, said it was "wrong to impose such a ban".
"In major cities, people of different castes and religions reside. If it is an emotional issue, then people accept it (ban) for a day. But if you clamp such orders on Maharashtra Day, Independence Day and Republic Day, then it is difficult," the deputy chief minister was quoted by the Indian Express as saying.
Mr Pawar said people in rural Maharashtra indulge in non-vegetarian delicacies during celebrations. "If we look at the coastal Konkan region, people mostly eat seafood. The tribals are used to non-vegetarian food. The food habit and diversity has to be respected."
Former state minister Aaditya Thackeray protested, saying: 'What we eat on Independence Day is our choice.'
'Instead of imposing vegetarianism on the citizens, focus on improving the terrible roads and broken civic service,' he wrote on X. 'Citizens will eat whatever they want to – vegetarian [or] non vegetarian.'
The ruling BJP defended the ban, arguing that they were empowered to do so specifically on occasions celebrating India's independence by a 1988 state government order.
Navnath Ban, a spokesperson for the BJP in Maharashtra, argued that the move was therefore not a new decision. 'The decision to keep slaughterhouses and meat shops closed on some important days such as Independence Day, Gandhi Jayanti (Mahatma Gandhi's birthday), Mahavir Jayanti, Ram Navmi etc was taken by the then-government in 1988,' he told the Indian Express. 'Since then some civic bodies follow it.'
Jitendra Awhad, a member of the Maharashtra assembly, claimed that the state government was 'fuelling a vegetarian–non-vegetarian divide' as only the latest in a string of social controversies.
Mr Awhad threatened to host a 'mutton party' on Independence Day, adding: 'On the day we got freedom, you are taking away our freedom to eat what we want.'
In the southern state of Telangana, the high court on Monday sought an explanation from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) regarding its order directing meat shops and slaughterhouses to remain shut on the occasion on Independence Day and the Hindu festival of Janmashtami, which will be celebrated this year on 16 August.
'The decision to close down the cattle slaughter houses, meat shops, etc. is taken without citing any reasons and the said letter is a blatant example of colourable exercise of authority without any reason whatsoever,' the petition before the high court read, according to Bar and Bench.
Asaduddin Owaisi, MP and member of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, called the ban order 'callous and unconstitutional'.
'What's the connection between eating meat and celebrating Independence Day,' he asked, claiming that 99 per cent of people in Telanga consumed meat. 'These meat bans violate people's right to liberty, privacy, livelihood, culture, nutrition and religion,' he added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
4 hours ago
- Reuters
India confident of meeting fiscal deficit target, despite planned tax cuts
NEW DELHI, Aug 17 (Reuters) - India is confident of meeting its fiscal deficit target of 4.4% for the current fiscal year, according to a government source with knowledge of the matter, despite its plans to cut consumption tax later this year. In the biggest tax overhaul since 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced sweeping changes to the complex goods and services tax (GST) regime which will make daily essentials and electronics cheaper. "India's federal and state governments have options to offset any loss of revenue due to lowering of rates," the government source said without providing further details. The source also said it will end the practice of collecting compensation cess by December. The GST compensation cess is an additional levy imposed on certain items to compensate states for any revenue loss incurred due to the implementation. India's finance ministry did not respond to a request for comment sent outside of office hours.
Reuters
9 hours ago
- Reuters
Modi's tax overhaul to strain finances but boost image amid US trade tensions
NEW DELHI, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's deepest tax cuts in eight years will strain government revenues but are winning praise from businesses and political pundits who say they will bolster his image in an ongoing trade fight with Washington. In the biggest tax overhaul since 2017, Modi's government on Saturday announced sweeping changes to the complex goods and services tax (GST) regime which will make daily essentials and electronics cheaper from October, helping consumers and also companies like Nestle, Samsung and LG Electronics. At the same time, in his Independence Day speech on Friday, Modi urged Indians to use more goods made domestically, echoing calls from many of his supporters to boycott U.S. products after Donald Trump hiked tariffs on imports from India to 50% as of August 27. The tax cut plan comes with costs given GST is a major revenue generator. IDFC First Bank says the cuts will boost India's GDP by 0.6 percentage points over 12 months but will cost the state and federal government $20 billion annually. But it will improve weak stock market sentiment and bring political dividends for Modi ahead of a critical state election in the eastern state of Bihar, said Rasheed Kidwai, a fellow at New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation. "GST reduction will impact everyone, unlike cuts to income tax, which is paid by only 3%-4% of the population. Modi is doing this as he is under a lot of pressure due to U.S. policies," said Kidwai. "The move will also help the stock market, which is now politically important as it has a lot of retail investors." India launched the major tax system in 2017 that subsumed local state taxes into the new, nationwide GST to unify its economy for the first time. But the biggest tax reform since India's independence faced criticism for its complex design that taxes products and services under four slabs - 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%. Last year, India said caramel popcorn would be taxed at 18% but the salted category at 5%, triggering criticism about a glaring example of GST's complexities. Under the new system, India will abolish the 28% slab - which includes cars and electronics - and move nearly all of the items under the 12% category to the lower 5% slab, benefitting many more consumer items and packaged foods. Government data shows the 28% and 12% tax slabs together garner 16% of India's annual GST revenue of roughly $250 billion last fiscal year. Bihar is a key state politically and goes to the polls by November. A recent survey by the VoteVibe agency showed Modi's opposition has an edge largely because of a lack of jobs. "Any tax cut has wide public appreciation. But of course, the timing is purely determined by political exigencies," said Dilip Cherian, a communications consultant and co-founder of Indian public relations firm Perfect Relations. "It seems to be an indication of some mixture of frustration as well as recognition that there is a broad public pushback against high and crippling rates of taxation." Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has seized on his tax announcement, posting on X that on the Hindu festival of lights, Diwali, "a brighter gift of simpler taxes and more savings is waiting for every Indian." Modi has vowed to protect farmers, fishermen and cattlemen, following Trump's surprise tariff announcement on India, after trade talks between New Delhi and Washington collapsed over disagreement on opening India's vast farm and dairy sectors and stopping Russian oil purchases. The latest round of trade talks between the two nations set for August 25-29 has also been called off. ($1 = 87.5080 Indian rupees)
Reuters
12 hours ago
- Reuters
US-India trade talks scheduled for August called off, source says
Aug 16 (Reuters) - A planned visit by U.S. trade negotiators to New Delhi from August 25-29 has been called off, a source said, delaying talks on a proposed trade agreement and dashing hopes of relief from additional U.S. tariffs on Indian goods from August 27. The current round of negotiations for the proposed bilateral trade agreement is now likely to be deferred to another date that has yet to be decided, the source with direct knowledge of the matter said. The U.S. embassy in New Delhi said it has no additional information on the trade and tariff talks, which are being handled by the United States Trade Representative (USTR). India's trade ministry did not immediately reply to a Reuters email seeking comments. Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, citing New Delhi's continued imports of Russian oil in a move that sharply escalated tensions between the two nations. The new import tax, which will come into effect from August 27, will raise duties on some Indian exports to as high as 50% - among the highest levied on any U.S. trading partner. Trade talks between New Delhi and Washington collapsed after five rounds of negotiations over disagreement on opening India's vast farm and dairy sectors and stopping Russian oil purchases. India's Foreign Ministry has said the country is being unfairly singled out for buying Russian oil while the United States and European Union continue to purchase goods from Russia.
