Dr. Subramanian Swamy 'shocked' as RTI reveals Air India serves only Halal meat

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Dr. Subramanian Swamy was "shocked" to know that national carrier Air India was serving only Halal meat on its flight. Taking to Twitter, Swamy referred to a Right To Information (RTI) filed by Supreme Court lawyer Ishkaran Bhandari that claimed that Air India was only providing customers with Halal meat. In an RTI response from the carrier dated November 5, Air India admitted that customers are served with "Halal meat only". When asked if other than that, 'jhatka' and 'kosher' meat is served as well, the response read, "Food served on board does not include Jhatka. Outsourced Kosher meals (Lunch/Dinner) are provided.

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Now it's clear that Dr. Subramanian Swamy is unhappy with this revelation and has called on Air India to stop it. Dr. Swamy has often traveled on Air India and has praised the national carrier for its service and Indian identity on social media. He has also vehemently opposed the Centre's plan to put the heavily indebted and progressively loss-making carrier on sale. Dr. Swamy has regularly argued that Air India is a national asset and its privatisation is no solution or remedy to the problem.

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Advocate Ishkaran Bhandari has remarked Air India's serving of only Halal meat as "economic and social discrimination". He has also hinted at taking legal action over the matter on Twitter. The lawyer has also shared a link to his YouTube channel where he is seen discussing this issue.

Wondering what's Halal, Jhatka and Kosher?

Halal meat is part of the cuisine that adheres to Islamic law, as defined in the Quran. The Islamic form of slaughtering animals or poultry involves killing through a cut to the jugular vein, carotid artery, and windpipe. It allows the blood to be drained out completely. Muslims are expected to strictly eat Halal meat.

The jhatka meat is the one where the method of killing the animal is with a single blow. Here the butcher simply beheads the animal in one blow and then retrieves the meat.

“Kosher” on the other hand is a term used to describe food that complies with the strict dietary standards of traditional Jewish law. Jewish law states that for meat to be considered kosher it must come from ruminant animals with cloven — or split — hooves, such as cows, sheep, goats, lambs, oxen, and deer. The animal must be slaughtered by a shochet — a person trained and certified to butcher animals according to Jewish laws. According to kosher tradition, any food categorised as meat may never be served or eaten at the same meal as a dairy product.

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