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''''Jhatka''' or '''Chatka''' meat ({{lang-hi|झटका}} ''{{transl|hi|jhaṭkā}}'' {{IPA-hi|dʒʰəʈkɑ|IPA}}; {{lang-pa|ਝਟਕਾ <small>([[Gurmukhi]])</small>, جھٹکا <small>([[Shahmukhi]])</small>}} ''{{transl|pa|chàṭkā}}'' {{IPA-pa|tʃə̀ʈkɑ|IPA}}; from Sanskrit ''{{IAST|ghātaka}}'' "killing") is meat from an animal that has been killed by a single strike of a sword or axe to sever the head, as opposed to ritualistically slow slaughter ([[kutha meat|kutha]]) like the Jewish slaughter ([[shechita]]) or Islamic slaughter ([[dhabihah]]). It is the method preferred by many [[Hindu]]s, [[Sikh]]s, and [[Christian]]s.<ref name="Engineers2009">{{cite book|last=Engineers|first=Niir Board Of Consultants &|title=Medical, Municipal and Plastic Waste Management Handbook|accessdate=2 May 2014|date=2009|publisher=National Institute of Industrial Research|isbn=9788186623916|page=214|quote=Halal is the method preferred by Muslims and jhatka by the Hindus/Christians/Sikhs, etc.}}</ref> ==Hindus and jhatka== Historically and currently,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/seta/2004/10/21/stories/2004102100111600.htm |title=The Hindu : Sci Tech / Speaking Of Science : Changes in the Indian menu over the ages |publisher=Hinduonnet.com |date=2004-10-21 |accessdate=2010-02-03}}</ref> 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/dp/0195645820|accessdate=13 June 2010|volume=1|date=13 February 2003|publisher=OUP India |isbn=0-19-564582-0|page=151}}</ref> This is a common method of slaughter when [[Bali Sacrifice]]s are made to some Hindu deities, however, [[Vedic]] rituals such as [[Agnicayana]] involved the [[strangling|strangulation]] of sacrificial goats.<ref>{{cite book|last=Nripendr Kumar Dutt |first=|title=Origin and Growth of Caste in India (C. BC. 2000-300)|url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1443735906|accessdate=26 July 2010|date=4 November 2008|publisher=Unknown|isbn=1-4437-3590-6|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]], [[Mithila (India)|Mithila]], [[Bengal]] and [[Kashmir]], Jhatka meat is the required meat for those Shaivite Hindus who eat meat. In theory, most [[Western culture|Western]] methods of animal killings for the purpose of meat are done with an instant blow to the head which can be interpreted as ‘jhatka’ meat. This could make it acceptable for some practicing Hindus & Sikhs to classify [[Captive bolt pistol|bolt gun]] killed animals as ‘jhatka’ meat.<ref>[http://www.chakranews.com/jhatka-the-forgotten-meat-what-is-it/2473 Jhatka, the Forgotten Meat. What is it?]</ref> ==Sikhs and jhatka== Jhatka for Sikhs is 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. 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> [[Kutha meat]] is forbidden, and Sikhs are recommended to eat the jhatka form of meat, as they do not believe that any [[ritual]] gives meat a [[Spirituality|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. During the [[British Raj]], jhatka meat was not allowed in jails and Sikh detainees 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. On religious Sikh festivals, including [[Hola Mohalla]] and [[Vaisakhi]], at the Gurdwara of [[Hazur Sahib]], [[Fatehgarh Sahib]] and many other Sikh Gurdwaras,<ref name="Mahaprashad">''"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</ref> jhatka meat is offered as "mahaprasad" to all visitors in a Gurdwara. This is regarded as food blessed by the Guru and should not be refused. ==Buddhists and jhatka== In Mongolian culture, it is traditional to say [[Om mani padme hum]] into the ear of the animal before slaughtering it as instantly as possible .{{citation needed|date=April 2013}} ==Christians and jhatka== In terms of slaughtering animals for food, the method of [[jhatka]] (with a single strike to minimize pain) is preferred by many Christians,<ref name="Engineers2009">{{cite book|last=Engineers|first=Niir Board Of Consultants &|title=Medical, Municipal and Plastic Waste Management Handbook|accessdate=2 May 2014|date=2009|publisher=National Institute of Industrial Research|isbn=9788186623916|page=214|quote=Halal is the method preferred by Muslims and jhatka by the Hindus/Christians/Sikhs, etc.}}</ref> although the [[Armenian Apostolic Church]], among other [[Orthodox Christianity|Orthodox Christians]], have rituals that "display obvious links with ''[[shechitah]]'', Jewish kosher slaughter."<ref name="GrumettMuers2010">{{cite book|last1=Grumett|first1=David|last2=Muers|first2=Rachel|title=Theology on the Menu: Asceticism, Meat and Christian Diet|accessdate=2 May 2014|date=26 February 2010|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781135188320|page=121|quote=The Armenian and other Orthodox rituals of slaughter display obvious links with ''shechitah'', Jewish kosher slaughter.}}</ref> ==Availability of jhatka meat== In India, there are many jhatka shops, with various bylaws requiring shops to display clearly that they sell jhatka meat.<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> 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> ==See also== *[[Ritual slaughter]] *[[Decapitation]] *[[Diet In Hinduism]] *[[Diet in Sikhism]] *[[Christian dietary laws]] *[[Dhabihah]] (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}} *{{cite web|url=http://www.indiacurry.com/faqterms/whatisjhatka.htm |title=What is Jhatka? |publisher=Indiacurry.com |date= |accessdate=2009-08-09}} *[http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/sikh-sikhi-sikhism/8828-fools-who-wrangle-over-flesh.html Fools Who Wrangle Over Flesh] *[http://www.scribd.com/doc/25772618/FOOLS-WHO-WRANGLE-OVER-FLESH-ORTHODOX-SIKH-VIEW-ON-MEAT Adobe Version of Fools Who Wrangle Over Flesh] *[http://www.sikhs.wellington.net.nz/meat.pdf Professor Gurbax Singh Dhillon - Meat Eating and Rehat Maryada] *[http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=8G8gUr9fIKc Video Showing Jhatka at Hazoor Sahib] *[http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/sikh-news/24666-sacrifice-at-hazur-sahib-myth-truth.html The Myth of Goat Sacrifice and Hazoor Sahib] *[http://sikhspectrum.com/112006/doris/ch8.htm Tenets of Guru Gobind Singh by Baldev Singh] *[http://sikhs.tulwar.com/meat.htm Sikh History on Diet] *[http://www.sikhs.org/meat_au.htm Sikh Scholar Views on Diet] {{Hindudharma}} {{Sikhism}} {{Christianity footer}} [[Category:Religion-based diets]] [[Category:Traditional meat processing]] [[Category:Hindu law]] [[Category:Sikh practices]] [[Category:Christian behaviour and experience]]'