ER.MOHAMMAD ASHRAF FAZILI
In my childhood around fifties, while passing through the busy Bohrikadal market I would hear the meat sellers calling “Arzan-i-arzan Shen anan paw” i.e. it is cheap, a paw of meat is sold for six Annas only i.e., Rs. 14/- a kg. and hardly anyone would buy the meat either due to austerity measures or people were more accustomed to the vegetarian diet and once a week or so they would go in for a meat dish which was considered a luxury. The J&K State was thus self-sufficient in sheep breeding due to less demand. Mostly people preferred to cook the common green leafy vegetable called “Haak” and there were large vegetable gardens at Khoja Bazar. Khanyar called Shalawaer, low lying lands at Narwara, Noorbagh area etc. The growers used to collect human excreta early in the morning in long conical baskets called ‘yetchis’ from the latrines of the households and deposit it in a deep corner of their fields to get it decomposed and use the same as organic manure in their vegetable gardens, where besides “Haak” other vegetables like Atriplex (wastae-hawk) Sag, Knol-Khol, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, tomato, brinjal, chillies, capsicum, cucumber, gourd, turnip, potatos, beetroot, spinach, phenogreek etc. too would be grown including the tobacco leaves. With a simple diet of rice and vegetables there were little complaints of diseases and generally people lived a healthy life as they walked a lot in absence of the mechanized transport. Besides walking long distances they used horses and carts driven by horses called tongas. Also use of boats as water transport in River Jhelum, Nalla Mar, Dal Lake, Gil Sar, Khushal Sar, Anchar Lake was a common affair. The boats were used to carry the ration, building materials besides huge logs of wood rolled down from forests were also transported tied together from one place to other even against the direction of the flow of water. In all this people used to work hard. Even women helped men in paddy fields, vegetable gardens and river transport etc.
With the passage of time and increase in population, coming of affluence, the need for speedy travel arose which led to the mechanized transport rendering less effort of walking by the people causing their obesity and above all this, the consumption of meat also increased. With the increase in the demand of meat more of the meat shops opened all over and although efforts were made by the Animal Husbandry Deptt. to grow more of the local breeds besides importing Australian and Russian breeds and create a cross-bred species and more is in the offing, yet there has remained a large gap between the supply and demand. Hence many trucks of sheep are imported from outside the state mostly from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. On average, around 30-35 trucks carrying approximately 150 sheep each arrive in kashmir daily to meet the high demand for mutton, especially during festive periods like Ramadan and Eid-u-duha. This translates to roughly 4,500 to 5,250 sheep imported daily and despite all this arrangement we find that most of the meat gets sold out in the meat shops in the morning hours only. According to a report J&K consumes 15 lakh sheep annually, with about 41% of the supply being imported from other parts of India. According to certain reports with the increase in meat consumption many diseases have taken roots among people as the doctors have been advising to cut down the meat diet but people turn deaf ear to it till they have to consult the doctor for remedies. In this process the Wazwan on marriages has a great role to play when each plate shared by four people consume three to four kgs. per head. Now a good sense has prevailed cutting across all the shame most of the people prefer to carry some of it in the carry bags supplied by the host rather than stuff their bellies or let it go waste.
Recently there have been reports and seizures of imported meat slabs in Kashmir, some of which have been found to be spoiled or unfit for consumption. This has raised concerns about food safety and sparked public outrage. A major portion of meat consumed in Kashmir is imported from outer states like Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, according to officials. The seizures of rotten and substandard meat, including meat in slabs, have been reported in various areas of Srinagar and other districts. The situation has raised serious concerns about food safety, with reports of meat lacking proper packaging, expiry dates, and import details, which again is a matter of concern as the lack of transparency regarding the source of the imported meat and the involvement of specific individuals and businesses. The Group of Concerned Citizens (GCC) too has raised an alarm on the rotten meat and the need to share the action taken against the defaulters and precautions taken for guarding such practice in the future. In UAE I have observed that due to the implementation of stringent laws no one can dare to sell any food item stale by even one day or sell a defective eatable which will otherwise invite imprisonment, closure of business and a heavy fine. Thus no such incidence takes place. This must serve a lesson for our authorities. Thus the recent discovery of rotten meat has led to public anger and distrust, with some residents now hesitant to consume meat. This trade must have been going on for a pretty long time and the supply of this meat is reported to have been made mostly to the restaurants/hotels where the same was sold in cooked form on a much cheaper rates than that available at market rates, thus raising serious doubts about its quality among the consumers. Today mutton is sold at Rs. 700 to 750/-per Kg. against Rs. 14/- per Kg in 1950. i.e., 50 to 53 times costlier that too of a poorer quality than what was available then. Even the chicken are reported to be brought up fast by injecting hormones which are injurious to the health of the consumer.
The doctors are of the opinion that one of the causes of the rising cases of fatal diseases like cancer, stomach ulcers, heart diseases etc. is due to our wrong dietary habits. The doctors advise that though meat, poultry, fish and alternatives such as dried beans, eggs and nuts are important sources of the minerals, iron and zinc, of protein, and of the B vitamins, especially vitamin B12 but one should eat moderate amounts of these foods, choosing lean meat and trimming all visible fat from it. eat fish at least twice a week, and include a portion of only fish such as mackerel or salmon and try not fry meat or fish, or add fat to those which are already rich in oils. Grilling, poaching, steaming, stir-frying and even roasting are healthier options.
The other remedy is to turn to alternative safe diets like pulses, vegetarian diets with equal food values, besides taking to exercises like walking etc.
In sixties I have lived for four years in South India where I observed that most of the people particularly Brahmans were vegetarians and had never touched non-vegetarian food. They were comparatively much healthier than the non-vegetarian people.
Perhaps due to the cold weather conditions in Kashmir Valley among all Brahmans of India it is only Kashmiri Brahman who takes meat on which Shankracharya had a long dialogue with the local Brahmans.
Besides the local Rishis and most of the Sufi Saints in Kashmir would avoid meat and their followers during Urs days like that of Baba Hardi Reshi of Islamabad (Anantnag) and Batmaloo Sahib etc., attached to these shrines still avoid eating meat.
There is a clear direction in Holy Quran “KULOO WASRABOO WALA TUSRIFOO” I.e., “Eat and drink but do not exceed the limits”
Er. Mohammad Ashraf Fazili is a Former Chief Engineer.
