Uttarakhand: BJP Govt Focuses on ‘Thook Jehad’ Ahead of Kedarnath Bypoll

Dehradun: After ‘Love Jehad’, ‘Land Jehad’, ‘Mazar Jehad’ and ‘Biryani Jehad’, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Uttarakhand government has now focussed its attention on Thook Jehad (spitting jehad) ahead of the Kedarnath by-elections scheduled to be held on November 20, 2024.

In a communal polarisation bid, eateries, restaurants and meat sellers in the hill state have been asked to display on their shops whether the meat they are selling is ‘jhatka’ or ‘halal’ (Islamic way of cutting meat), as per instructions issued by the state government authorities.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who had been claiming for the past one week that ‘Thook Jehad’ and ‘Land Jehad’ would not be tolerated in ‘Devbhoomi’ (the Land of Gods) Uttarakhand at any cost, convened a meeting on October 15 and issued strict instructions to police as well as health authorities to check ‘Thook Jehad’ immediately.

The Director General of Police (DGP) has issued instructions to all the district police chiefs stating that in view of the incidents of alleged spitting in some eateries reported in the social media, the police need to ensure 100% verification of all the employees of hotels and dhabas, the owners should be asked to have CCTV cameras in their kitchens, local intelligence units be strengthened to check such incidents on eatables being sold on carts, and patrolling to check such incidents should be intensified.

The order further said that if need be, random checking of such eateries should be done with the help of health and food departments and if any such incident is found, action under Section 274 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 81 of Uttarakhand Police Act be initiated. If religious sentiments of locals are hurt by such action, then action should be ensured under Sections 196(1) (B) or Section 299 of the BNS, and awareness programmes for healthy food should be launched by local bodies and panchayats.

Soon after the order, the Dehradun Police, led by SSP Ajai Singh, launched a vigorous campaign in which police teams inspected dhabas, hotels, restaurants and carts selling food products and informed the owners about the latest instructions.

Dehradun SSP Ajai Singh leading a police campaign to check eateries in Dehradun on Wednesday.

As per a Dehradun Police press release, a total of 1,047 establishments were checked and 135 owners of eateries were found in unhygienic conditions and challaned under the Police Act. A total of 127 persons working in such establishments were brought to respective police stations for their verification.  

By Wednesday evening, Chief Minister Dhami and state health minister Dhan Singh Rawat further announced that anybody indulging in such activities would be fined between Rs. 25,000 to Rs 1 lakh. Later, the state health department came up with a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on the issue.

Uttarakhand health secretary R. Rajesh Kumar said all those dealing with food products need to wear face masks and hand gloves compulsorily. They should not indulge in smoking, spitting or making any unhygienic moves. All the workers of eateries were also asked to have photo identity cards. All eateries in the state have been asked to get their establishments registered or face action.

The SOP further said that, as per the instructions of the National Minorities Commission letter dated December 26, 2022, all the eateries, hotels, restaurants and meat sellers having meat products should display whether the meat is ‘jhatka’ or ‘halal’ and any failure to obey any of the above conditions would invite strict action under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.    

Interestingly, what prompted Chief Minister Dhami to embark on such vigorous exercise was two reported cases of alleged spitting circulating in the social media. While a hype is being created on ‘Thook Jehad’ with the help of the pliant media, nobody has so far checked the veracity of the allegations or the purported video. 

Meanwhile, two Muslim youth running a tea kiosk in Mussoorie were arrested and sent to jail on the charges of allegedly spitting into tea being served to customers. They were serving tea at a roadside kiosk at Library Chowk.

In another case, a purported video of a known restaurant owned by a Muslim near Inamaullah Building in Dehradun went viral in which a worker making ‘rumali roti’ was allegedly charged with spitting on it while preparing it. The video was reportedly made from a nearby police building. The Dehradun Police investigated the matter and found the charges to be untrue.

Uttarakhand police order on 'thook jehad' for eateries in the state.

Jamshed Quraishi, owner of the restaurant, has alleged that due to reasons not know to him, his shop was falsely targeted and the incident was being used for ulterior political motives. He said the worker who was accused of spitting had been working in his restaurant for the past over 15 years. He alleged that the said video was shot from a nearby building to defame his restaurant. 

The writer is a freelancer based in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.