A woman who opened the first-ever non-Halal restaurant in Kerala was attacked and threatened with violence for opening a second branch

A Muslim woman who opened a restaurant in Ernakulam, Kerala has been assaulted by a group of men. She went live during the attack, informing about their tactics and pleading for protection.

The opening of the first non-halal restaurant in Kerala sparked tension. Thushara, who owns and operates Nandus Kitchen, was subjected to threats of violence. Rather than trying to retaliate with strokes of hatred, Thushara moves forward to create quality food without reference to religious beliefs.

Smt Tushara was threatened by Islamists against opening a second branch in Kozhikode. A video of her being taken to the hospital in an ambulance and the way she was mercilessly assaulted by some miscreants have been shared by her daughter on social media.

Smt Tushara, the owner and victim, claims that this is because her restaurant placed a poster about their non-Halal options outside for everyone to see.

Condemning the attack, K Surendran, the state president of BJP Kerala Tweeted: “Strongly condemn the attack against Smt.Thushara Ajith. A group of Muslim fanatics brutally attacked the woman entrepreneur due to non-compliance of Halal in her hotel. What happened in Kakkanad is nothing less than Talibanism. I urge the people of Kerala to reject Halal Invasion”.

Kerala has been torn apart by a controversy over halal meat. In January this year, a bakery in Kerala was allegedly forced to remove the ‘Halal’ sticker notifying the availability of Halal food and give up their rights to exclusively offer halal food after opposition by Hindu Aikya Vedi activists. As per reports, the matter began after the organisation’s Parakkadavu unit president Arun Aravind and his colleagues visited the bakery for food and asked for non Halal food.

Aravind had to face some tough times as he was assaulted and threatened. There were many who agreed with the fight against Halal, but had to back down due to fear of persecution.

Just last year, Kochi based CASA called for a boycott of Halal meat stating that Christians in the state need to confront the radicalization of their culture. Christians in Kerala called for a boycott of halal meat, causing Hindus and Hindu groups to declare their support for the cause.

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Written by Dhriti Chaturvedi