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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</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 the method is adopted as being the less painful to the animal than other methods. ==Hindus and Jhatka== Historically and currently, those [[Hindus]] who eat [[meat]] prescribe jhatka meat. This is the a common method of slaughter if [[animal sacrifice]]s are made to some Hindu deities, however, [[Vedic]] rituals such as [[Agnicayana]] involved the strangulation of sacrificial goats. 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. ==Jhatka Meat and Sikhs== Jhatka is a Marshall Heritage of the Sikhs, it is the Sikh mode of killing an animal. In the Official [[Khalsa Code of Conduct]]<ref>[http://www.sikhnetwork.org/viewfile.php?fid=9 10 Misconception Regarding Sikhs]</ref> The Sikhs are recommended to eat Jhatka meat,<ref>[http://www.sikhnetwork.org/viewfile.php?fid=9 10 Misconception Regarding Sikhs]</ref> as they do not believe any ritual gives meat a spiritual virtue (ennobles the flesh).<ref>Singh, I. J., Sikhs and Sikhism ISBN 8173040583 ''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 enoble 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 8170102006 ''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> Another reason Sikhs do not eat [[halal]] meat is because the use of halal methods is a prerequisite for converting to [[Islam]] or [[Judaism]]. For Sikhs Jhatka karna or Jhatkaund means to instantaneously severing the head with a single stroke of any weapon. The underlying idea is to kill the animal with the minimum of torture to it.<ref>[http://www.sikhnetwork.org/viewfile.php?fid=9 10 Misconception Regarding Sikhs]</ref> During halal, the Islamic formula meaning "By the name of Allah.“ But for Jhatka, a Sikh while delivering the blow may utter “[[Sat Sri Akaal]]” (lit. True is the Timeless Lord), which is a Sikh war slogan, but there is No sacrifice or ritual involved in such utterance, and it is not mandatory either.<ref>[http://www.sikhnetwork.org/viewfile.php?fid=9 10 Misconception Regarding Sikhs]</ref> During British Conquest, Jhatka was not allowed in jails and Sikh detenues during the [[Akali movement]] and after had to resort to violence and agitations to secure this right. One of the terms in the settlement between the [[Akalis]] and Muslim Unionist government in the Punjab in 1942, Jhatka was continued as Sikh Marshall Heritage.<ref>[http://www.sikhnetwork.org/viewfile.php?fid=9 10 Misconception Regarding Sikhs]</ref> [[Image:http://farm1.static.flickr.com/144/336456760_6b8f3a9cca.jpg|thumb|alt=A Traditional practice being carried out at Talwandi, Punjab.|Traditional Sikh practice of 'Jhatka' (decapitation with one sword blow) being carried out at Talwandi, Punjab.]] ==Availability of Jhatka Meat== In India, there are many Jhatka shops, with various bylaws<ref>http://www.ajmermc.org/PDF/MeatByelaws1963.pdf</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</ref> Jhatka has become more widely available in the United Kingdom nowadays.<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]</ref>. On religious Sikh festivals, including [[Hola Mahalla]] and [[Vaisakhi]], at the Gurdwara of [[Hazur Sahib]], [[Fatehgarh Sahib]] and many other Sikh Gurdwara's, Jhatka is offered as [[Kara Parshad]] to all visitors in a Gurdwara. This is regarded as food blessed by the Guru and should not be refused.<ref>[http://www.sikhnetwork.org/viewfile.php?fid=9 10 Misconception Regarding Sikhs]</ref> ==References== {{reflist}} ==See also== * [[Ritual slaughter]] * [[Decapitation]] * [[Vegetarianism in Hinduism]] * [[Diet in Sikhism]] * [[Dhabiha]] Muslim method of ritual slaughter. * [[Shechita]] Jewish method of ritual slaughter. * [[Legal aspects of ritual slaughter]] * [[Kutha meat]] ==External links== *{{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}} [[Category:Religion-based diets]] [[Category:Traditional meat processing]] [[Category:Hindu law]] [[Category:Sikh practices]] {{meat-stub}} [[es:Jhatka]] [[sv:Jhatka]]'