Malhar certification, scheme mooted in Maharashtra to promote ‘jhatka meat’, is not a govt initiative
Malhar certification, a recently launched initiative in Maharashtra that aims to identify Jhatka (animal slaughter performed according to Hindu traditions) meat sellers and provide them with certificates, has stirred up a lot of discussion on and off social media. Attending the launch of the Malhar certification website on March 10, Maharashtra fisheries minister Nitish Rane promoted it saying that the certification would help identify Hindu mutton shops, in which there would be no adulteration and only Hindus would be involved in the business.
Rane also tweeted a picture of the website launch and appealed to shopkeepers to get this certification. He suggested people not to buy mutton from shops which did not have the Malhar certification.
The difference between Halal and Jhatka meat is that in Halal, the animal’s throat is half slit following Islamic guidelines. And as the word ‘jhatka’ (sudden movement) indicates, it is a process of killing an animal by slitting its throat with a swift single blow, and is followed by Hindus.
Since Maharashtra minister Nitesh Rane was present at the Malhar certification website launch, many media outlets reported it as an initiative of his along with the state government. Most media agencies and outlets did not mention the people and the organisation behind the certification in their reports, making it look like a government scheme in the eyes of news readers.
The Hindu, while reporting on the matter, described the Malhar certification as a move by the Maharashtra government to empower vendors from the Hindu community who were adhering to Hindu traditions.
Similarly, Asianet News also presented the Malhar certification scheme as an initiative by the Maharashtra government and said that the government had introduced ‘Malhar certification’ for Hindu meat traders to ensure availability of pure meat.
NDTV also reported this as an initiative of the Maharashtra government and added that under the scheme, certificates would be provided to Jhatka meat shops operated by Hindus.
Similarly, several media outlets reported that Malhar certification was an initiative of the Maharashtra government and did not provide any details, directly or indirectly. These included India Today, The Times of India, and others. News agency ANI also failed to provide any information about the background of the certification in its report, following which several media outlets ran the news from their syndicate feed, and called it a Maharashtra government move. Among those who did so was Asianet News, which described the Malhar certification as an initiative of the Maharashtra government.
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What Does Malhar Mean?
The name of Malhar certification is based on the name of the Hindu deity Malhari, also known as Khandoba. He is mainly worshipped in Maharashtra, and is the most popular Kuldevta in the area. The most prominent center of worship of the Malhari deity is a temple located in Jejuri, which is about 50 km from Pune in Maharashtra.
Is Malhar certification a Maha Government Initiative?
A number of news reports have claimed that the Malhar certification is an initiative of the Maharashtra government, but they have not presented any evidence linking it to the government. The Malhar certification website uses the top level domain (.com), while the top level domain of websites of schemes launched by the government are usually (.gov.in). Nowhere on this website is it mentioned that this is a government initiative, nor is there any logo or name of ministry or department associated with the government that can be found.
Our Investigation into the Scheme
The Malhar certification scheme was launched on March 10, 2025. According to the Domain Registration Data Lookup Tool, the domain name (malharcertification dot com) of the Malhar certification website was registered on February 4, 2025, just a month before its launch.
According to the information on the Malhar certification website, it is a “certified platform for Jhatka mutton and chicken vendors. It ensures that goat and sheep meat, sacrificed according to Hindu religious traditions, is fresh, clean, free from saliva contamination, and not mixed with any other animal meat.” Furthermore, it mentions that this meat is made available exclusively through vendors from the Hindu Khatik community and it encourages people to purchase mutton only from shops with the Malhar certification.
There is no company or organisation mentioned on this website, nor any address. It only mentions that it is operated from Pune, Maharashtra. In the contact details on the website, there is an email and phone number, which was not reachable. There is no name of any official of any alleged certifying body provided on this website who can be contacted for information related to the certification.
There is a section on the website that lists the so-called Malhar certified shops with their addresses and mobile numbers. Alt News reached out to some meat shop owners who informed us that only their shop’s name and number were provided on the website and they had not received any certificates yet.
While gathering more information on this matter, we came across a Hindustan Times report by journalist Srinivas Deshpande. The report explains in detail that this certification is an initiative started by the Hindu Dalit Khatik Mahasangh, a collective of Hindu butchers. The Khatik community traditionally works as butchers.
The article also contains a statement by Hindu Dalit Khatik Mahasangh spokesperson Akash Palange, in which he states that this certificate is an attempt to regain economic opportunities lost due to halal-dominated businesses.
Hindustan Times reported that a day after Malhar certification was launched, Rajendra Khedekar, a trustee of the Shri Martand Dev Sansthan, which runs the most prominent temple of the deity in Jejuri after whom the scheme is named after, objected to the name ‘Malhar’ in the certificate and said that the Malhari deity is a vegetarian and loves animals. As a result, they made an appeal to Nitesh Rane to change the name of the certification. However, it was later revealed that this was just a personal opinion of one trustee, but after a thorough discussion, they unanimously supported the move.
Alt News Spoke to Hindu Dalit Khatik Mahasangh Spokesperson Akash Palange
Responding to our queries on media reports claiming the certification was a government initiative, Palange clarified, “This is an initiative of the Hindu Dalit Khatik Mahasangh. At present, it has not been officially introduced by the government. However, many people in the government are supporting us and efforts will be made for it to be introduced officially by the government in the near future.”
When asked about the office address not being available on the website and mobile numbers not working, he said, “The website is still being developed, and it will be updated. The mobile number given on the website is currently inactive, but our WhatsApp is active from this number on which people can apply for certification.”
Speaking about shopkeepers not having received any certificates till date, he stated, “No shopkeeper has been given a certificate till now, we have only uploaded their name, number and shop name on our website. We are planning a large-scale initiative for shopkeepers, in which we will distribute these certificates to them in the presence of senior leaders.” However, he refused to provide more information on this matter.
Responding to our question on why only Hindu Khatik vendors were being issued the certification, he stated, “Right now, we are focusing on Maharashtra and here most butchers hail from the Khatik community, so the name of the Khatik community is specifically mentioned on the website. We have received around 600-700 certification requests from Maharashtra. Apart from this, we have also received numerous messages from Punjab, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, although their numbers are very few. In future, when we introduce it to other places, people from all types of Hindu communities will also be able to join it.”
To sum it up, our investigation revealed that various media outlets falsely reported that the Malhar certification was a Maharashtra government move, when in fact it has no official connection with the government.
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