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India’s Supreme Court this week suspended measures in two northern states that had forced restaurants to display their owners’ names, an obligation critics said could fuel division and discrimination against the country’s Muslim minority, the BBC reported.
In Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, two states governed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), police issued orders requiring eateries along a Hindu pilgrimage road to write out the names of their owners on display boards.
State authorities explained the measure would help guarantee law and order, as well as prevent “confusion” among Hindu worshippers participating in the ‘Yanwar Yatra’ pilgrimage.
However, opposition parties and even BJP allies criticized the measures and filed petitions to the nation’s top court. On Monday, the Court handed petitioners a win, saying restaurants were only obliged to specify the food they serve.
Critics complained that the measures were “discriminatory on grounds of religion” because they would expose the Muslim names of some owners, in regions that have seen violent confrontations between Hindus and Muslims in the past.
In recent years, Yanwar Yatra has been marred by violence and vandalism.
During the annual pilgrimage, Hindu worshippers of the god Shiva travel to religious sites along the holy Ganges river, passing through the north of India.
During that period, devotees avoid eating meat and drinking alcohol. Some of them also stay clear of restaurants that serve meat, Reuters explained.
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