Twitter has been abuzz recently with the news of Dhathri Ayurveda Hospital and Panchakarma Centre receiving “halal” certification from Halal India. Dhathri happens to be the first Ayurveda hospital ever to receive a halal certificate. This piece of news has driven the netizens crazy as they talk through the pros and cons of this decision with many criticizing the move, especially on religious grounds.
Ayurveda which is basically a part of the entire Ayush conglomerate is considered as alternative medicine. They use a number of different natural ingredients in a bid to develop efficient medicines and although most of these ingredients contain elements which have medicinal properties, the process itself has not been scientifically validated. Halal India on the other hand, is a halal certification agency, which certifies among other things, pharma products, as halal certified. This basically ensures that a particular product does not violate the Islamic Sharia. Many mainstream pharma companies, as well as FMCG companies like Patanjali, have opted for this certification. This is not a government-endorsed certification but happens to be a religious one, and thus holds no approval of scientific authenticity either.
The issue with certain sections of the Hindu community lies with the fact that Ayurveda has been an accepted Hindu method of treatment for thousands of years and thus needs no validation from any other religious community. Hence, when a hospital-like Dhathri tries to implement Sharia laws into its medicines, to hardcore believers of religion, this violates a sacred bond that ties Hindus with their ancient, medicinal roots.
However, the halal certification also happens to be a prevalent norm in many sectors, done primarily to woo the stringent sections of the Islamic community which abide by the Sharia law. The halal follows a procedure where products that use animals or their byproduct do so in a way that minimizes pain is caused to the living being.
So, eventually, the questions that a rational mind free of religious ambiguities should ask is, is this a wrong thing to do? No. However, along with religious ambiguities comes minority appeasement which has enraged people over generations. So the gamut here is far and wide and the side you choose to support eventually defines your belief system across the political and religious spectrum.
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