Maharashtra’s minister for port development, Nitesh Rane, has once again managed to make headlines for all the wrong reasons. His latest initiative, the Malhar certification programme, is yet another attempt to inject religious division into everyday life, this time targeting the meat industry. Under this scheme, only Hindu butchers from the Khatik community will be allowed to register and sell meat certified as “Jhatka,” a method of slaughter in which the animal is killed with a single strike. This move is not just unnecessary but also unconstitutional, as it discriminates against Muslims, Christians, and even Hindus from other castes. The premise of this certification is flawed at multiple levels. Rane claims that Hindus and Sikhs prefer........

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