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Jhatka ( ) is a method of slaughtering an animal for meat by a single strike of a sword or axe to decapitation within the Sikhism religion. This kills the animal almost instantly. This type of slaughter is preferred by most meat-consuming Sikhs.
The official Khalsa Code of Conduct and the Sikh Rehat Maryada forbid the consumption of Kutha meat, and Sikhs are recommended to eat jhatka meat.Singh, I. J., Sikhs and Sikhism "And one Semitic practice clearly rejected in the Sikh code of conduct is eating flesh of an animal cooked in ritualistic manner; this would mean kosher and halal meat. The reason again does not lie in religious tenet but in the view that killing an animal with a prayer is not going to ennoble the flesh. No ritual, whoever conducts it, is going to do any good either to the animal or to the diner. Let man do what he must to assuage his hunger. If what he gets, he puts to good use and shares with the needy, then it is well used and well spent, otherwise not."Mini Encyclopaedia of Sikhism by H.S. Singha, Hemkunt Press, Delhi. "The practice of the Gurus is uncertain. Guru Nanak seems to have eaten venison or goat, depending upon different Janamsakhis versions of a meal which he cooked at Kurukshetra which evoked the criticism of Brahmins. Guru Amardas ate only rice and lentils but this abstention cannot be regarded as evidence of vegetarianism, only of simple living. Guru Gobind Singh also permitted the eating of meat but he prescribed that it should be jhatka meat and never Halal meat that is in the Muslim fashion."
In Sikhism, there are three objections to non- jhatka or kutha products: that sacrificing an animal in the name of God is ritualism and something to be avoided; that killing an animal with a slow bleeding method is inhumane; and historic opposition of the right of ruling Muslims to impose their practices on non-Muslims. Kutha meat includes not just Halal or Kosher meat but any meat produced by slow bleeding or the perceived religious sacrifice of animals, including meat from animals slaughtered ritualistically in Hinduism.
Jhatka karna or jhatkaund is the instant severing of the head of an animal with a single stroke of any weapon, with the underlying intention causing it minimal suffering., Quote: "Jhatka, which comes from the Sanskrit word jhatiti meaning "at once", is a method of slaughter in which a single rapid jerk or blow to the head is believed to produce the least amount of suffering for the animal. (...) Unlike in Islam, there is no religious ritual that accompanies the killing."
During the British Raj, the Sikhs began to assert their right to slaughter through Jhatka. When jhatka meat was not allowed in jails, Sikhs detained for their part in the Akali movement resorted to violence and agitations to secure this right. Among the terms in the settlement between the Akalis and the Muslim Unionist government in Punjab in 1942 was that jhatka meat be allowed for Sikhs.
On Sikh religious festivals, including Hola Mohalla and Vaisakhi, at the Hazur Sahib Nanded, and many other Sikh Gurdwaras, jhatka meat is offered as "mahaprasad" to all visitors in a Gurdwara. "The most special occasion of the Chhauni is the festival of Diwali which is celebrated for ten days. This is the only Sikh shrine at Amritsar where Maha Prasad (meat) is served on special occasions in Langar", The Sikh review, Volume 35, Issue 409 - Volume 36, Issue 420, Sikh Cultural Centre, 1988 This practice is considered to be unacceptable by modern Sikh sects who believe only lacto-vegetarian langar is supposed to be served inside gurudwaras after the introduction of Colonial-era "Mahants" and "" into Sikh Gurdwaras.
In early 1987 Kharku issued a moral code banning the sale and consumption of meat and calling for jhatka shops to be closed. The ban led to much of Punjab being without meat and the closing of jhatka shops. Those who continued to sell or eat meat risked death and commonly would have their businesses destroyed and be killed. One survey found that there were no meat or tobacco shops between Amritsar and Phagwara. At the peak of the militancy, most of Punjab was meatless. Famous restaurants that served meat removed it from their menu and denied ever serving it. The ban was popular among rural Sikhs. Kharkus justified the ban by saying, "No Avatar, Hindu or Sikh, ever did these things. To eat meat is the job of Rakshasa (Demon) and we don't want people to become rakshasas."
In the past, there has been little availability of jhatka meat in the United Kingdom, so people have found themselves eating other types of meat, Sikh women in England: their religious and cultural beliefs and social practices By S. K. Rait, p. 63 Trentham Books, 2005 although jhatka has become more widely available. Food safety and quality assurance: foods of animal origin By William T. Hubbert, Page 254 Wiley-Blackwell, 1996
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