Passenger refuses ‘halal tea’ on Vande Bharat Express, warns staff

A passenger recently created a flutter on a Vande Bharat Express train, confronting an Indian Railways staff member over serving ‘halal-certified’ premix tea.

The incident was recorded by the passenger himself, who refused the ‘halal tea’, saying it hurt his religious sentiments. The video was widely circulated on social media on Thursday.

In the video, visibly puzzled Railways staff member is heard asking, “What is Halal tea?” In response, the passenger pointed at ‘halal-certified’ label on the premix tea sachet that was being served on the train.

Despite assuring the passenger that the tea was 100% vegetarian, and hygienic, the railway staff member is told, “We don’t want religious certifications… such certifications hurt our religious sentiment.”

The video was later shared by a number of right-wing groups with captions like “beware Hindus! Halal-certified tea packets in trains and flights.”

‘Halal’ is an Arabic term, which means ‘permissible’. Companies across the world label their products ‘halal-certified’ to convey that no ingredients are used that are not permissible in Islam.