Yogi Adityanath-led UP government declares ‘No Non-Veg’ Day on November 25. Here is why

The Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government has declared November 25 as “no non-veg day”. The UP government's decision to declare November 25 as no non-veg day in order to honour and pay tribute to Sadhu TL Vaswani. According to the government's circular, all slaughterhouses and meat shops in the state will remain closed on this day.

A circular issued by the Uttar Pradesh government mentioned, "Instructions have been issued from time to time to keep the slaughterhouses and meat shops located in all the local bodies of the state closed on the great festivals of Jayanti, Gandhi Jayanti, Sadhu TL Vaswani and Shivratri. Likewise, the decision to declare November 25, 2023, the birthday of Sadhu T.L. Vaswani, as a meat-free day and to keep the slaughterhouses and meat shops located in all the urban local bodies of the state closed, has been taken".

"Please ensure strict compliance of the orders in all the urban local bodies," the circular added.

Who was Sadhu Thanwardas Lilaram Vaswani?

Sadhu Thanwardas Lilaram Vaswani, an educationist who started the Mira Movement, was born on November 25, 1879. Annually, the Sadhu Vaswani Mission, which exists to take forward the life and mission of Sadhu T. L. Vaswani, celebrates International Meatless Day on Vaswani's birthday, 25 November, because he had strongly advocated the universal practice of vegetarian living. He died on January 16, 1966, at the age of 86

Uttar Pradesh Govt imposes ban on Halal-certified products

The recent announcement came days after the UP government imposed a ban on Halal-certified products with immediate effect. On 18 November, the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government issued an order that forbade the production, storage, distribution, and sale of food products with the Halal certification. 

According to the official release, strict legal measures will be implemented against any individual or firm engaged in the production, storage, distribution, buying, and selling of Halal-certified medicines, medical devices, and cosmetics within Uttar Pradesh. However, products manufactured for export will not be subject to the restrictions.

The press note further mentioned that the state government recently received information indicating that products such as dairy items, sugar, bakery products, peppermint oil, salty ready-to-eat beverages, and edible oils are being labelled with Halal certification.

Halal certification, operating as a parallel system, creates confusion regarding food quality, violating government rules in this regard, said the press release.