‘Chai vegetarian hi hota hai’: Railway official tries to pacify passenger protesting halal tea packs

A video on halal tea packets has gone viral on Twitter

A passenger objects to halal certification on tea packets served onboard a train. An official tries to pacify him, repeatedly telling him that tea is vegetarian. Footage of the exchange has sparked a raging debate on Twitter around food certification and its religious connotations.

The undated video, filmed by the passenger himself, shows him asking the official why his packet of masala chai premix is halal-certified. “Sawan ka mahina chal raha hai, aap halal chai pila rahe hain (You are serving halal tea during the month of Sawan),” he tells the hapless official, who responds: “Chai vegetarian hi hota hai, sir (Tea is always vegetarian).”

In Hinduism, the month of "Sawan" holds religious and cultural importance. Many Hindus observe fasts during this month and consume only simple vegetarian meals after sunset.

In the clip, the passenger appears to be suspicious that the halal certification could mean that his packet of tea premix is non-vegetarian. The Railways official tries to put his mind at ease, pointing to the green dot which signifies the product is vegetarian. The passenger remains unconvinced, repeatedly asking why the ‘halal’ mark is there in the first place.

⁦@AshwiniVaishnaw⁩ ⁦@RailMinIndia⁩ ⁦@IRCTCofficial⁩ why Halal certified products are being served to Hindus? Please stop this.. ⁦@narendramodi⁩ ⁦@AmitShah⁩ ⁦@PMOIndia⁩ ⁦@HMOIndia⁩ pic.twitter.com/qlp0JV5Z4c

— Poonam (@poonam_thukral) July 19, 2023

While vegetarian foods generally do not contain meat or animal by-products, there are vegetarian food items that may not be considered halal. For example, some vegetarian food products, such as certain desserts, may contain alcoholic ingredients which would make them non-halal.

Therefore, several packaged food items in India come with a halal certification even if they are already certified as vegetarian.

In the viral clip, the passenger tells the Railways official: “I don’t want any religious certification. You should look into this.”

“Pure veg hai sir,” the official tells him repeatedly, before promising him that he would look into the matter. The incident reportedly took place on a Vande Bharat Express train where the passenger was served a packet of Chaizup premix tea.

The clip has sparked a heated debate on Twitter, with some labelling the passenger’s argument absurd and others asking to do away with halal certification as it has religious connotations.