In yet another case of Islamophobia, the Himalaya Drug Company, a cosmetic company having several products by its name, faced the brunt of right-wing trolls who targeted the company with #boycotthimalaya after it was found to have halal certification.
This comes amidst almost daily instances of Karnataka reporting cases of anti-Muslim hatred and a ban on Hijab (which some Muslim girls wear) in government schools and colleges. In this week, there have been at least two instances wherein Muslim traders were boycotted in various parts of Karnataka.
Trouble began for the Himalaya Drug Company after a picture of its policy on Halal certified was put up online by Hindutva groups which have been calling for a ban on halal meat in Karnataka. Himalaya’s Halal Policy states, “Our products comply with Islamic Law/Shariah and free from any forbidden ingredients under Islamic law”.
It further stated, “We have set up the Internal Halal Management Team comprising of senior executives (including Muslim) from various disciplines to be responsible for all matters pertaining to Halal certification”.
This led to certain Hindutva groups demanding a ban on Himalaya products and thus the trend #boycotthimalaya began. Many netizens also supported this trend, calling for a total boycott of the products.
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