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''''Jhatka''' or '''Chatka''' meat ([[Hindi]] झटका, {{lang-pa|ਝਟਕਾ}} ''jhaṭkā'', from Sanskrit ''{{IAST|ghātaka}}'' "killing") is meat from an animal which has been killed by a single strike of a sword or axe to sever the head, as opposed to Jewish slaughter ([[shechita]]) or Islamic slaughter ([[dhabihah]]) in which the animal is killed by ritually slicing the throat. It has been described as the antithesis<ref>[http://thesikhencyclopedia.com/marshall-heritage/jhatka.html Jhatka], The Sikh Encyclopedia</ref><ref>[http://www.sikhs.org/meat.htm What is Jhatka Meat and Why?]</ref> of ritual slaughter. This kills the animal immediately because the spinal cord is severed, and the blood flow to the brain is stopped almost instantly, causing brain death within seconds. Therefore this method is less painful to the animal than other methods{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}}. == Jhatka meat and Sikhs == Jhatka is the [[Sikh]] method of killing an animal. As stated in the official [[Khalsa#Khalsa code of conduct|Khalsa Code of Conduct]]<ref name="r10">[http://www.sikhnetwork.org/viewfile.php?fid=9 10 Misconception Regarding Sikhs]</ref>, Sikhs are recommended to eat the jhatka form of meat, as they do not believe that any [[ritual]] gives meat a [[spiritual]] virtue (ennobles the flesh).<ref>Singh, I. J., Sikhs and Sikhism ISBN 81-7304-058-3 ''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.''</ref><ref>Mini Encyclopaedia of Sikhism by H.S. Singha, Hemkunt Press, Delhi. ISBN 81-7010-200-6 ''The practice of the Gurus is uncertain. Guru Nanak seems to have eaten venison or goat, depending upon different [[Janamsakhi]] 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 not Halal meat that is jagged in the Muslim fashion.''</ref> For Sikhs '''jhatka karna''' or '''jhatkaund''' refers to the instantaneous severing of the head of an animal with a single stroke of any [[weapon]], with the underlying intention of killing the animal whilst causing it minimal suffering. In [[Islam]], for example, Muslims pray before killing it, but Sikhs do not engage in any such ritual. During the [[British Raj]], jhatka meat was not allowed in jails and Sikh detenues during the [[Sunder Singh Lyallpuri#Father of Akali Movement, Akali Dal|Akali movement]] and beyond had to resort to violence and agitations to secure this right. Among the terms in the settlement between the [[Akali]]s and the [[Punjab Muslim League#Punjab Muslim league and Unionist Party (Punjab)|Muslim Unionist government]] in [[Punjab region|Punjab]] in [[1942]] was that jhatka meat be continued as a Sikh Martial Heritage. == Hindus and jhatka == Historically and currently, those [[Hindus]] who eat [[meat]] prescribe jhatka meat<ref>{{cite book|last=Das|first=Veena|title=The Oxford India companion to sociology and social anthropology, Volume 1 |url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Oxford-Companion-Sociology-Social-Anthropology/dp/0195645820/ref=sr_1_1/277-3672876-6007429?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276432746&sr=1-1|accessdate=13 June 2010|volume=1|date=13 February 2003|publisher=OUP India |isbn=0195645820|page=151}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last= Rao |first=K .Krishna|title=Introduction to Indian Social Anthropology|url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Introduction-Indian-ilSocial-Anthropology-Krishna/dp/8182200776/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276432959&sr=1-1|edition=1|date=1 January 2006|publisher=Global Vision Publishing House,India|isbn=8182200776|page=282|chapter=7}}</ref>. This is a common method of slaughter when [[animal sacrifice]]s are made to some Hindu deities, however, [[Vedic]] rituals such as [[Agnicayana]] involved the strangulation of sacrificial goats.<ref>{{cite book|last=Nripendr Kumar Dutt |first=|title=Origin and Growth of Caste in India (C. B.C. 2000-300)|url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Origin-Growth-Caste-India-2000-300/dp/1443735906/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1280148341&sr=1-1|accessdate=26 July 2010|date=4 Nov 2008|publisher=Unknown|isbn=1443735906|page=195}}</ref> Many [[Shaivite]] Hindus engage in jhatka methods as part of religious dietary laws, as influenced by some [[Shakta]] doctrines, which permit the consumption of meat (except [[beef]], which is universally proscribed in Hinduism). During [[Durga Puja]] and [[Kali Puja]] among some [[Shaivite]] Hindus in [[Punjab (India)|Punjab]], [[Bengal]] and [[Kashmir]], Jhatka meat is the required meat for those Shaivite Hindus who eat meat. ==Availability of jhatka meat == In India, there are many jhatka shops, with various bylaws<ref>[http://www.ajmermc.org/PDF/MeatByelaws1963.pdf Order No. Tax/F.15(25)DLB/63] Published in the Govt. Gazette on 13-02-1965 (Part 6)</ref> requiring shops to display clearly that they sell jhatka meat. 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,<ref>[http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=hRfkTq1ykSIC&pg=PA63&dq=sikh+halal Sikh women in England: their religious and cultural beliefs and social practices] By S. K. Rait, p. 63 Trentham Books, 2005 ISBN 1-85856-353-4</ref> although jhatka has become more widely available in the United Kingdom.<ref>[http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Sn__pj6QjBUC&pg=PA297&dq=Jhatka+Meat++United+Kingdom#v=onepage&q=Jhatka%20Meat%20%20United%20Kingdom&f=false Food safety and quality assurance: foods of animal origin] By William T. Hubbert, Page 254 Wiley-Blackwell, 1996 ISBN 0-8138-0714-X</ref> ===Petition by www.jhatka.org=== Petition for fair treatment to Jhatka has been filed by Ravi Singh creator of www.jhatka.org and is pending review before the Parliament of India<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jhatka.org/?p=12|title=Copy of the Petition before Parliament of India|last=Singh|first=Ravi Ranjan|date=14 December 2009|work=To The Committee on Petitions on ‘Food Without Discrimination’.|publisher=www.jhatka.org|page=1|accessdate=7 July 2010}}</ref>. == See also == *[[Ritual slaughter]] *[[Decapitation]] *[[Diet In Hinduism]] *[[Diet in Sikhism]] *[[Dhabiha]] (Muslim method of ritual slaughter) *[[Shechita]] (Jewish method of ritual slaughter) *[[Legal aspects of ritual slaughter]] *[[Kutha meat]] *[[Bali_Sacrifice]] == References == {{Reflist|2}} == External links == *[http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/sanatan-sikhism/22596-promoting-jhatka.html An interesting insight into Jhatka Tradition] *{{cite web|author=Nihang Teja Singh |url=http://www.shastarvidiya.org/chatka.jsp |title=Sanatan Sikh Shastar Vidiya - Chatka |publisher=Shastarvidiya.org |date= |accessdate=2009-08-09}} *[http://www.worldsikhnews.com/21%20January%202009/Goat%20Sacrifice%20at%20Hazur%20Sahib%20%20Myth%20&%20Truth.htm Goat Meat The Truth] *{{cite web|url=http://www.indiacurry.com/faqterms/whatisjhatka.htm |title=What is Jhatka? |publisher=Indiacurry.com |date= |accessdate=2009-08-09}} *[http://jhatka.org/ Jhatka promotion site] [[Category:Religion-based diets]] [[Category:Traditional meat processing]] [[Category:Hindu law]] [[Category:Sikh practices]] [[es:Jhatka]] [[sv:Jhatka]] [http://www.youtube.org JHATKA] www.jhatka.org'