By Meryl Sebastian, Dilnawaz Pasha
India’s Supreme Court has put on hold a controversial order that directed restaurants along the route of an annual Hindu pilgrimage to display names of their owners and operators.
The order was issued by Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand – states governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is in power federally – ahead of the Kanwar Yatra, which began on Monday.
Opposition parties and even BJP allies criticised it, saying it targeted Muslim-owned establishments and could affect livelihoods.
State authorities claimed the order was meant to maintain law and order.
But on Monday, India’s Supreme Court temporarily halted the order while hearing a batch of petitions challenging it. The judges said the eatery-owners only needed to display names of items they served.
The petitions, filed by civil society activists and opposition MP Mahua Moitra, argued that the orders were “discriminatory on grounds of religion and would further the cause of untouchability [outlawed in India]”.
This story was originally published in bbc.com. Read the full story here.
