New Delhi: Tata Group-owned Air India has made a significant shift regarding meals served to passengers onboard. It has announced that it will no longer serve ‘halal’ food to Hindus and Sikhs during flights.
According to Air India, MOML (Muslim Meal) labelled with a sticker for pre-booked meals will be considered special meals (SPML). Halal certificate will only be provided for uplifted MOML meals. All meals on Saudi sectors will be halal. Halal certification will be provided for sectors including Jeddah, Dammam, Riyadh, and Medina, including Hajj flights.
The decision to stop serving ‘halal’ certified food to Hindus and Sikhs comes after a long struggle against what has been termed as the “halal mafia”. The change indicates an important victory for those who have been campaigning for this in Air India’s meal options.
What is the food controversy surrounding Air India?
For the past several days, Air India has been caught in controversy over the meals served during flights. Amid this, Air India announced a significant decision. On June 17, Congress MP Manickam Tagore expressed concern over the labelling of food based on religion by Air India. Tagore asked, “What is Hindu food and what is Muslim food on an Air India flight? Have the RSS members taken control of Air India? I hope the Ministry of Civil Aviation will take action on this matter.”
What are halal and jhatka meat?
According to Islamic tradition, people consume halal meat, which is meat that undergoes a specific process for slaughtering the animal. In this process, the animal is not cut directly; instead, it is bled out slowly. On the other hand, there is another method known as jhatka, in which the animal is cut all at once in one swift blow.
