MUMBAI, India — The state that includes Mumbai, India’s
financial capital, this week became the latest state to ban the
possession and sale of beef, imposing fines and up to five years in
prison for violations.
The
ban in the populous western state of Maharashtra, which was passed
Monday, came as an amendment to a 1972 law prohibiting the slaughter of
cows, which has been expanded to ban the slaughter of bulls, bullocks
and calves. The slaughter of water buffaloes will still be allowed,
subject to permission from the authorities.
The
Maharashtra Animal Preservation bill, championed by right-wing Hindu
organizations, was first passed in 1995 but languished for two decades
under a governing coalition between the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party. The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party was the clear winner in state elections last October after Narendra Modi, the party’s leader, took office as prime minister in May.
The
law, which allows a fine of 10,000 rupees, about $162, took effect
Monday night after approval from India’s president, Pranab Mukherjee.
Maharashtra’s chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis, gave the president
credit and expressed his thanks over Twitter.
“Our dream of ban on cow slaughter becomes a reality now,” he wrote.
The
move was far less popular with those who run Mumbai’s restaurants, and
some retailers warned that it would cause jobs to be lost and send the
price of other meats spiraling upward.
“This is extremely sad to hear,” Glyston Gracias, a chef at Smoke House Deli, told The Indian Express, a daily newspaper. “I will have to go to another country.”
“A
lot of our foreign clientele, such as Japanese and Europeans, will miss
beef on the menu,” he said. “I will find it difficult to do
international cuisine.”
The protection of cows is a volatile subject in India,
where the animals are revered by the majority-Hindu population. Nearly
all of India’s states already have provisions restricting or banning cow
slaughter. In addition, the state of Gujarat, Mr. Modi’s home base,
bans the sale, purchase and transportation of beef, and Madhya Pradesh
State prohibits beef consumption and transportation. The Bharatiya
Janata Party’s election manifesto included promises to work toward “the
protection and promotion of cow and its progeny.”
As
India’s beef trade is largely controlled by Muslims, a religious
minority in the country, the issue has become a point of contention
between them and Hindus, and manifests itself as a political dispute
during elections.
Last
month, beef traders in Maharashtra complained that they were being
harassed by right-wing Hindus who were attacking vehicles transporting
cattle to abattoirs, seizing the animals and beating the drivers. In
February, beef traders across the state went on strike for more than a
week until the chief minister, Mr. Fadnavis, assured them protection.
India
is a top exporter of meat from buffaloes, which are more common and
less revered in India than cows. India’s exports of beef, including
buffalo meat, have been rising steadily. Before the state elections,
Satpal Malik, a vice president of the farmers’ wing of the Bharatiya
Janata Party, said that if elected, the party would “crack down on beef
exports” and “review the subsidy the government gives for beef or
buffalo meat exports,” according to a report by Reuters.
Correction: March 3, 2015
An earlier version of this article misstated the name of an amendment to a law prohibiting the slaughter of cows. It is the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill, not the Maharashtra Animal Preservation Bill.
An earlier version of this article misstated the name of an amendment to a law prohibiting the slaughter of cows. It is the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill, not the Maharashtra Animal Preservation Bill.
Correction: March 5, 2015
An article on Wednesday about the passage of legislation banning the sale and possession of beef in the Indian state of Maharashtra erroneously attributed a distinction to Maharashtra. At least one other Indian state, Gujarat, has already banned the sale of beef; Maharashtra is not the first state to do so. The error was repeated in the headline. Because of an editing error, the article also referred incorrectly to the victory by the Bharatiya Janata Party, which had promoted the ban, in Maharashtra state elections in October. It won the most votes, but not a majority.
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) –
New York City public schools have added two Muslim holidays to the
school calendar, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Carmen
Farina announced Wednesday.
Schools will now close for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, making New York City the largest school district in the nation to recognize the two holidays on the official school calendar.
“We are committed to having a school calendar that reflects and honors the extraordinary diversity of our students,” said Farina.
De Blasio said the change means that Muslim families won’t be forced
to choose between observing the holidays and sending their kids to
school.
“They want to celebrate their holiday but they also want to go to school, they love school. So now they don’t have to make that choice and this is why this is so amazing,” mother of three Linda Sarsour told WCBS 880’s Peter Haskell.
The announcement was made at PS/IS 30 in Brooklyn, where officials
said 36 percent of students were absent the last time Eid al-Adha fell
on a school day.
“We’re here today to make good on a promise to our Muslim brothers and sisters that a holiday of supreme importance to the Muslim community will be recognized in our school calendar so that children can honor the holiday without missing school,” the mayor said.
“I want to thank Mayor de Blasio for adding Eid-al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr to the public school holiday calendar,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. “Islam is one of the largest religions in the world, and the Muslim community is thriving not just in The Bronx but throughout the city of New York. This decision allows our city’s Muslim community to fully practice their faith without it interfering with their school attendance and education. As I have said in the past, by recognizing these two important holidays, we show that not only are we welcoming to everyone’s religious beliefs but that we respect everyone’s Constitutional right to freedom of religion.”
Eid al-Adha will be observed for the first time on Sept. 24. Eid-al-Fitr, which falls over the summer, will be designated a holiday for those attending summer school.
De Blasio said it’s all about respect for families, 1010 WINS’ Carol D’Auria reported.
“Families are the fabric of our city. They’re the core of our city,” the mayor said. “All families deserve respect. Every kind of family deserves respect, and that’s what we’re noting today.”
The added holidays are familiar to most of the children in at least one Midwood Pre-K class.
When many of them go on to public school they’ll stay home for Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr without missing any classes.
Bill DeBlasio tells NYC voters, if you don't vote for me, you can go to hell, get shot by a cop, or take your damn money and go bet it in New Jersey or any place else that believes in the values espoused by NY Const Art 1, Sec. 3
The next witch burning in NYC has just been added to the alternate side of the street parking calendar. Burn, baby, burn!!!!
HILARY CLINTON URGES RELIGIOUS MODERATION BY ALL STATES.
THE US IS A CHRISTIAN NATION AND THE ONLY RELIGIOUS FEDERAL HOLIDAY IS CHRISTMAS.
HI-
Thanks for the help. The item’s below. I’d be happy to mail you a copy, if you give me a mailing address.
Claude Solnik
(631) 913-4244
Long Island Business News
2150 Smithtown Ave.
Ronkonkoma, NY 11779-7348
Home > LI Confidential > Stop scratching on holidays
Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012
Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.
“This is going to enlighten the understanding there is another holiday and it is for the Muslim community,” Mohammad Razvi told CBS2’s Dave Carlin.
Eid al-Adha, the ‘Feast of Sacrifice’ commemorates Abraham’s devotion to God. Eid al-Fitr is the ‘Feast of Breaking the Fast’ at the end of Ramadan.
Both holidays use the Islamic lunar calendar causing the dates to move.
The decision drew mixed reactions from parents.
“It’s going to be hard on the parents. It doesn’t make sense. Too many holidays already,” Felix Beato said.
Kashif Hussain welcomes it for his family. He remembers holidays being stressful when he was at Brooklyn’s Madison High.
“I had to pray, run, and miss my first three classes,” he said.
Other school districts in Vermont, Massachusetts and New Jersey already close public schools in observance of Muslim holidays, according to the city. New York is now the largest.
An article on Wednesday about the passage of legislation banning the sale and possession of beef in the Indian state of Maharashtra erroneously attributed a distinction to Maharashtra. At least one other Indian state, Gujarat, has already banned the sale of beef; Maharashtra is not the first state to do so. The error was repeated in the headline. Because of an editing error, the article also referred incorrectly to the victory by the Bharatiya Janata Party, which had promoted the ban, in Maharashtra state elections in October. It won the most votes, but not a majority.
News
De Blasio Announces Addition Of Muslim Holidays To NYC Public Schools Calendar
March 4, 2015 5:16 PM
Schools will now close for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, making New York City the largest school district in the nation to recognize the two holidays on the official school calendar.
“We are committed to having a school calendar that reflects and honors the extraordinary diversity of our students,” said Farina.
De Blasio Announces Addition Of Muslim Holidays To NYC Public Schools Calendar
Carol D'Auria reports
“They want to celebrate their holiday but they also want to go to school, they love school. So now they don’t have to make that choice and this is why this is so amazing,” mother of three Linda Sarsour told WCBS 880’s Peter Haskell.
De Blasio Announces Addition Of Muslim Holidays To NYC Public Schools Calendar
Peter Haskell reports
“We’re here today to make good on a promise to our Muslim brothers and sisters that a holiday of supreme importance to the Muslim community will be recognized in our school calendar so that children can honor the holiday without missing school,” the mayor said.
“I want to thank Mayor de Blasio for adding Eid-al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr to the public school holiday calendar,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. “Islam is one of the largest religions in the world, and the Muslim community is thriving not just in The Bronx but throughout the city of New York. This decision allows our city’s Muslim community to fully practice their faith without it interfering with their school attendance and education. As I have said in the past, by recognizing these two important holidays, we show that not only are we welcoming to everyone’s religious beliefs but that we respect everyone’s Constitutional right to freedom of religion.”
Eid al-Adha will be observed for the first time on Sept. 24. Eid-al-Fitr, which falls over the summer, will be designated a holiday for those attending summer school.
De Blasio said it’s all about respect for families, 1010 WINS’ Carol D’Auria reported.
“Families are the fabric of our city. They’re the core of our city,” the mayor said. “All families deserve respect. Every kind of family deserves respect, and that’s what we’re noting today.”
The added holidays are familiar to most of the children in at least one Midwood Pre-K class.
When many of them go on to public school they’ll stay home for Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr without missing any classes.
Bill DeBlasio tells NYC voters, if you don't vote for me, you can go to hell, get shot by a cop, or take your damn money and go bet it in New Jersey or any place else that believes in the values espoused by NY Const Art 1, Sec. 3
The next witch burning in NYC has just been added to the alternate side of the street parking calendar. Burn, baby, burn!!!!
HILARY CLINTON URGES RELIGIOUS MODERATION BY ALL STATES.
THE US IS A CHRISTIAN NATION AND THE ONLY RELIGIOUS FEDERAL HOLIDAY IS CHRISTMAS.
HI-
Thanks for the help. The item’s below. I’d be happy to mail you a copy, if you give me a mailing address.
Claude Solnik
(631) 913-4244
Long Island Business News
2150 Smithtown Ave.
Ronkonkoma, NY 11779-7348
Home > LI Confidential > Stop scratching on holidays
Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012
Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.
“This is going to enlighten the understanding there is another holiday and it is for the Muslim community,” Mohammad Razvi told CBS2’s Dave Carlin.
Eid al-Adha, the ‘Feast of Sacrifice’ commemorates Abraham’s devotion to God. Eid al-Fitr is the ‘Feast of Breaking the Fast’ at the end of Ramadan.
Both holidays use the Islamic lunar calendar causing the dates to move.
The decision drew mixed reactions from parents.
“It’s going to be hard on the parents. It doesn’t make sense. Too many holidays already,” Felix Beato said.
Kashif Hussain welcomes it for his family. He remembers holidays being stressful when he was at Brooklyn’s Madison High.
“I had to pray, run, and miss my first three classes,” he said.
Other school districts in Vermont, Massachusetts and New Jersey already close public schools in observance of Muslim holidays, according to the city. New York is now the largest.
