From Swift Compliance To Concerns Over Politicisation, Here's How Lucknow Has Reacted To UP Govt's 'Halal Ban'

On November 18, the Uttar Pradesh government banned the manufacture, sale, storage, and distribution of halal-certified products. This decision followed a complaint filed at Lucknow’s Hazratganj Police Station, where the complainant alleged that certain companies were certifying products as halal to boost sales within a specific community, thereby “toying with the public’s faith”. The ban exempts products which need halal certification for export purposes.

In a statement, the UP government alleged “malicious attempts” to discourage the use of products lacking a halal certificate not only seek “unfair financial benefits” but also form part of a “pre-planned strategy to sow class hatred, create divisions in society, and weaken the country” by "anti-national elements", PTI reported.

The state government gave a 15-day deadline to stakeholders including outlet chains, retailers, and department stores to remove all halal-certified food items from their shelves.

On November 19, a post shared by the Government of UP read, “The action was taken after UP CM Shri Yogi Adityanath Ji took cognizance of the issue of forged Halal certification by certain agencies, which is legal.”

Although the move came after the FIR was lodged, in the official notice announcing the ban, the Uttar Pradesh government referred to the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. According to this law, only the Food Safety and Standards Authority had the authority to provide certificates for food products, the order stated. It argued that halal certifications created a separate certification system, which goes against current government rules.Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, one of the halal-certifying bodies in India, refuted allegations of forged certifications, asserting that they were aimed at tarnishing their image

Niaz Farooqui, CEO of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, “Certain individuals propagating false claims against Halal Certification directly undermine our national interests. Halal Trade stands as a significant $3.5 trillion industry, and India benefits from its promotion in exports and tourism, particularly with our crucial trade partners in the OIC countries and Southeast Asia...In response to baseless allegations aimed at tarnishing our image, Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind Halal Trust will take necessary legal measures to counter such misinformation.”

In his statement, Farooqui said the halal certificates were a matter of choice for individuals and manufacturers for their own satisfaction. “Those who do not want to use such products are free not to use them,” he added.

Hilal Ahmed, Associate Professor of Centre For The Study of Developing Society (CSDS), believes assessing how the ban will impact people in administrative ways will be complicated.

“Is it a ban on the certificate that says a product is halal or is it a ban on the product which is halal?” he said.

Hilal Ahmed pointed out another dimension to the unfolding narrative that couldn't be dismissed—symbolic politics.

“The other sort of story is how it is propagated and how politically it is shown. So obviously we are in a phase of elections and therefore anything related to Muslims or anything related to eating habits of Muslims can be used in a variety of ways. This halal certificate ban can be used in a variety of ways,” said Ahmed.

Ahmed believes that the administrative move is linked to the identity formation of Muslim eating habits which will have a greater impact on political processes. He, however, is unsure about the extent to which people will be affected by the ban, as no research has been done in this area.

“In India, we don't really have any halal food stickers, virtually on anything. India’s middle class, when they go and buy food from the butcher they don't ask for a certificate,” said Ahmed. “Another good thing for Indian Muslims is that pork is not widely consumed so that's why if you are a Muslim you have the option of eating halal or you can entirely be vegetarian.”

The new rule has also caused uncertainty among shopkeepers and departmental store workers with many of them unsure whether the ban pertains to the certificate declaring products as halal or the halal products themselves.

An employee at a local store, part of a national chain, revealed that they had returned all halal products in response to the recent ban on halal certification. “We had some chips, wafers, dal and some chocolates which had the sticker on them so we sent it back. When the ban was announced, we got a circular from our headquarters to remove the items and we followed that. We were supposed to remove everything within 15 days.”

The owner of a corner store selling imported goods such as dates, honey, dry fruits, and olive oil from Muslim countries, explained that the majority of his inventory never bore the halal sticker to begin with.

“The only thing I have right now with the halal stamp is marshmallows and I’ll dispose of them. Most items in my shop are imported from countries like Saudi Arabia and it is understood that they are halal. They don’t have the stamp so I won’t be very affected,” said the owner.

Another departmental store reported swift compliance with the new regulation, having promptly removed certain wafers and chocolates from their shelves. In contrast, smaller shops appeared to be in the dark about the ban, with a couple of them expressing ignorance about its existence and its potential impact on their businesses.

The decision has put consumers, like Lucknow resident F Ahmed, in a dilemma. Learning that halal-marked products will no longer be available, Ahmed expresses concern, stating that her family will need to reevaluate their longstanding consumption habits.

“We are very particular about this. We only used to have food products which clearly stated that it was halal. There are certain codes too, in addition to ingredients and the halal sticker that my husband looks at before buying something,” said Ahmed.

Chips, with their potential inclusion of pork fat, were a particularly scrutinised item in Ahmed's household, among other things. She said, “So we always used to check if it was halal or not.”

The Lucknow resident is unable to make sense of the Uttar Pradesh government’s move to ban “manufacture, sale, storage and distribution of halal-certified products with immediate effect”. 

She said, “The certificate was beneficial to one community and was in no way harming the other community so why has it been banned?”

Ahmed is not the only one trying to identify the motive behind the ban, another resident of Lucknow, Jabeen Fatima echoed her concerns about the specific targeting of the halal sticker. She said not many products had halal written on it anyway and now the ones that had them will also be removed, “I don’t think they’ll remove the green square with the green dot that’s for veg.”

Jabeen Fatima has decided to cut down on packaged products, having lost trust in the whole certification process. “I do not know on whose authority it is [the certification]. [The ban] is just a bait…they want to stir up a storm of non-issues before the elections,” she said.