New Delhi – Hindu right-wing group forces on Wednesday forced no fewer than 200 shops selling meat and chicken in the New Delhi suburb of Gurgaon to close, another incident of religious scuffles about meat-eating in the country.
Members of the Shiv Sena group said the shops should close to respect the sentiments of Hindus during the nine-day festival of Navratri.
During the festival, dedicated to god Ram, devout Hindus fast and abstain from eating meat, fish and poultry.
The Shiv Sena’s move comes amid a crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses in Uttar Pradesh state, where a Hindu religious leader has taken over as chief minister.
Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh states have also started similar crackdowns, India Today television reported.
All five states are governed by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which also runs the federal government.
Haryana, where Gurgaon is located, bordering the Indian capital, also has a BJP government.
An official at the Gurgaon Police Control room said they had received no formal complaint of forcible shutting of shops.
“Everything was done peacefully, and the shop owners complied with requests willingly,” Ritu Raj, spokesman of the Gurgaon Shiv Sena wing said.
