by admin | May 25, 2021 | Halal Industries, News
Mahmood Madani and Baba Ramdev
New Delhi: Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (JUH) led by Maulana Mahmood Madani has come under fire from different quarters including its rival faction for issuing Halal certificate to Yoga guru Ramdev’s Patanjali group. The Muslim circles alleged that a hefty sum of money might have changed the hands for issuing Halal certificate to the Patanjali group which, they suspect, uses cow urine in making its products. By this act, they also alleged that the Mahmud faction has extended indirect help to Rammed who is known for his pro-government and pro-RSS stances. However, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Halal Trust (JUHHT), which issued the certificate, tried to clarify its position by stating that no cow urine product was given certificate and asserted that it has a very strong and robust Halal Audit system.
The social media is also awash with sharp comments on the issuance of the Halal certificate while alleging that both the factions of JUH often go against the interest of the community. Social media users referred to meeting of Arshad Madani with RSS chief and Mahmood Madani’s unflinching support to the Modi government to buttress their point. Ramdev is known “Muslim-baiter” and virtually a part of the ruling party. By issuing a Hall certificate, the JHU has given an effective instrument to promote Patanjali products in Islamic world particularly in the Middle East and thereby financially strengthening the hands of saffron groups who are spewing venom against the country’s second largest religious group.
Even, JUH faction led by Maulana Arshad Madani, which generally stays away from the affairs of its rival faction, also criticized the decision while disclosing that the Patanjali group had first approached to them for the Halal certification.
After the vertical division in the 100-year old organization in 2007, Arshad Madani faction has rechristened it Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Halal Committee as Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Halal Foundation (JUHHF). JUHHF functionary Maulana Gulzar Azami disclosed that, “they (Patanjali group) first approached to us and pleaded their case for a month but we refused as we knew all their affairs”. Consequently, they (Patanjali) went to Mahoomd group’s Halal trust, whose proximity with the Modi government is not a secret, Maulana Azami said and alleging that the Mahmood faction has gone wayward after it broke away from us and needs to be exposed.
Voicing similar concerns , Maulana Aamir Rashadi, president Rashtirya Ulema Council, said the Jamait Trust people should fear of the Almighty Allah as the promoter of the Patanjali company openly maintains that his company purifies all products by using cow-urine. He alleged it might have been a sweetheart deal as Mahmood group is known for hobnobbing with the powers that be.
It is to recall that some years back, a Muslim group from Tamil Nadu, Thowheed Jamat had alleged that cow’s urine was being used as a ‘key ingredient’ in cosmetics, medicines and food products of Patanjali that are available in open markets as well as online. The Jamat said the cow urine’s usage was considered ‘haram’ (forbidden) in Islam. Patanjali group was established in January 2006 and since the advent the Modi government in May 2014, its fortunes rose to phenomenal levels which is now aiming at ₹25,000 crore revenue this fiscal year. To achieve this target, the company needs to establish foothold in the lucrative oil-rich gulf countries, hence it got the Halal certificate.
Jamiat Halal trust flaunts on its website that “its unique services help companies penetrate in the global economy and establish themselves as a trusted brand for consumers.
Defending the certification to the Patanjali, Niaz Farooqui said “Each company which is certified by us has to follow our stringent Halal documentation process which also includes a legally abiding document (affidavit) declaring to be Sharia compliant during the certification tenure.”
However, debunking the claim of Farooqui, Dr Sultan Ahmad, scientist, said the Jamiat has no scientific method to ascertain which products contains cow urine. He said Ramdev and his company is vocal promoter of cow urine that creates suspicion in Halal consumer’s mind.
Meanwhile, All India Halal Board also voiced its concern on the issuance of the certificate. Board general secretary, Danish Reyaz said they are collecting all necessary documents to expose them (Jamiat Halal Trust) at the forthcoming World Halal Conference which will be held in Malaysia in September this year.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Books, News, Politics
By Saket Suman,
New Delhi : A biography that traces Baba Ramdev’s rise from godman to tycoon has been caught up in a legal storm for over 11 months; Amish Tripathi’s upcoming book has been served a legal notice and its launch postponed; a nonfiction account on Bastar by Nandini Sundar came under pressure from a state government; and a critical book on the 2002 Gujarat riots by Rana Ayyub could not find a publisher.
Those who disseminate ideas through books have had their share of political coercion. “As a publisher I find that I have faced pressure and censorship across all political regimes,” says Chiki Sarkar, publisher of Juggernaut Books.
But now, an insidious method of going against authors and publishers has emerged — of causing delays through the courts. The fear of legal suits and defamation charges has assumed such proportions that it has led to rejections and self-censorship among publishers, industry insiders say.
In a series of interviews with key people holding top portfolios in some of India’s most prominent publishing houses, IANS ran a reality check on whether or not they have faced issues like self-censorship or pressure from political groups or legal action during the four years of the Narendra Modi government.
“There has only been a few legal cases in the court, but we have not faced any political pressure,” says Kapish Mehra, Managing Director of Rupa Books.
What emerges from these discussions is that political pressures on publishing houses is not “a new phenomenon” — both parties, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress have practiced it. But the legal threat as a weapon to thwart public discourse through books has assumed menacing proportions.
Recently, writer Amish Tripathi was served a legal notice for his latest book “Suheldev & The Battle of Bahraich”. Tripathi announced the postponement of the July 16 launch “due to some circumstances beyond our control”. Earlier, pre-orders were being booked.
The announcement of the book was made at Sonali Bendre’s Book Club in Mumbai and the cover was launched by actor Varun Dhawan, who too has been sent a legal notice.
The book is said to revolve around Raja Suheldev, a semi-legendary Indian king from Shravasti in Uttar Pradesh. In the legal notice sent on June 25, a copy of which IANS has, the sender has accused the author and bollywood actor Varun Dhawan, of hurting “his and his communities’ sentiments”.
“Raja Suheldev is a godly figure among the Rajbhar community. I have received several messages and complaints from members of our community that Amish Tripathi has hurt their sentiments,” Jaiprakash Rajbhar, who sent the notice, told IANS over phone from Mumbai.
Rajbhar, an advocate, said that Uttar Pradesh text books for Class VI clearly point out that Suheldev was from the Rajbhar community. “The author has referred to him as somebody from “other caste”. This is a historical blunder,” he said.
“Moreover, the cover of the book shows Suheldev half naked. A king who is fighting a battle and riding a horse could not afford a piece of cloth to cover his body?” he asked.
On such grounds are objections to work of great artistes being raised. Tripathi and publisher Westland have declined comment on the issue.
Tripathi is a writer of fame and repute. With gross retail sales of Rs 120 crores, his novels include “The Immortals of Meluha”, “The Secret of the Nagas”, “The Oath of the Vayuputras”, “Ram: Scion of Ikshvaku” and “Sita: Warrior of Mithila”.
Sarkar, who started her publishing career at Bloomsbury in London, then worked at Penguin Books India and rose to become India publishing head after Penguin’s merger with Random House, said that Juggernaut has published many politically brave books — “I am a Troll”, “Shadow Armies”,”The Burning Forest” and “Mothering a Muslim”.
“But the book we have run into the biggest legal trouble over — the biography of Baba Ramdev — is a non-political book,” Sarkar told IANS.
The publication and sale of “Godman to Tycoon: The Untold Story of Baba Ramdev”, authored by Priyanka Pathak-Narain, has been stayed by the Delhi High Court, after a lower court had lifted a similar order earlier.
According to Baba Ramdev’s petition, the book mentions some details from his past that are “irresponsible, false (and) malicious”. Certain content, Ramdev’s petition said, “had been added without evidence and verification”.
Juggernaut said in its appeal that the book was “truthful, even-handed and balanced consideration of the history of Baba Ramdev, which has been meticulously researched and is based on public and recorded sources, most of which have been in the public domain for years”.
It all began on August 4, 2017 when in an ex-parte order, the Additional Civil Judge at the District Courts of Karkardooma in Delhi asked Juggernaut not to publish or sell the book. The injunction was lifted nine months later in April 2018.
But the freedom was not to last too long. In May 2018, the Delhi High Court restored the temporary injunction. Ramdev’s lawyer had told the court that certain parts of the book were “unfounded and had misleading material which are malicious and scandalous”.
Pathak-Narain, the author had told the court that the contents of the book represented “only reported true facts as gleaned from publicly available documents and contains legitimate and reasonable surmises and conclusions drawn therefrom”.
The next hearing in the case is in August. “We will fight it out up till the Supreme Court, if need be,” says Sarkar.
“The Burning Forest: India’s War in Bastar” by Nandini Sundar, professor of sociology at Delhi University, who has been writing about Bastar and its people for 26 years, faced covert pressure from the state government to not publish or distribute the book. She chronicled how the armed conflict between the government and the Maoists had devastated the lives of some of India’s poorest, most vulnerable citizens in Bastar.
Fear of legal cases or political pressure often lead to publishers exercising their own version of self-censorship. Journalist Rana Ayyub, who was lately in the news for facing hate and threat messages on social media, could not find a mainstream publisher for her book “Gujarat Files”, an undercover expose of the 2002 riots in the state that claimed the lives of over 1,000 Muslims. She ended up publishing it herself. Ayyub, in a text message from London, expressed her unavailability to respond at present.
Industry insiders say that “legal suits, defamations proceedings and temporary injunctions” were their greatest fear. Injunctions can kill the fate of any book. They say that in eight out of ten cases, where a book can potentially be stayed by a court, mainstream publishers would avoid publishing it — or at least tell the author to remove content or “tone down” portions which are “objectionable”.
(This is first article in the two-part series on freedom in book publishing. Saket Suman can be contacted at saket.s@ians.in)
—IANS
