Viral Fact Check: Al Kabeer Exports is Not a 'Hindu' Slaughter House

I came across a social media post recently which accused Hindus of being hypocritical on the issue of “cow slaughter”. As per the social media post, which has been spread as a viral post, most of the largest slaughter houses in India are run by Hindus or Sikhs and not by Muslims. As we know, as per Hinduism, cows are worshiped and are to be always protected. All the native religions of India have respected cows in similar manner. On the other hand, beef eating is prevalent among Muslims and hence the community is often accused of being disrespectful towards Hindus’ sentiments. Perhaps this social media post tried to “correct” the perception.

The social media post specifically mentioned about one “Al Kabeer Exports Pvt Ltd.” whose expert oriented slaughterhouse is based at Hyderabad. Here is the viral (fake) post which mentions that “all the directors of the company are Hindus”: 

Searching with Google, I came across this petition on Change.org asking it to be banned. The petition also mentions that most employees of this slaughter house are Hindus and the director of this company is a Hindu.

I searched with Google to find more about this company. I came across its official website which is: http://www.alkabeerexports.com/about/

The above company website clearly mentions that the company “is a Muslim (owned) company”. It also mentions that the company’s slaughterhouse in India “does not slaughter cows, bulls or bullocks”. It only slaughters buffaloes. Buffalo’s meat is also called “beef” and hence this confusion has been created.

The website also mentions that there are false pictures of this slaughterhouse shared on social media in order to defame the company. It also hosts a scanned image of Government of India certificate showing the name and picture of its Director who is a Muslim: 

Therefore, it is clear that the viral posts on social media including the pictures shared of the slaughterhouse and the religion of the director of the company, all are false information.

I am sharing this on my blog so that you are aware of this and in case you come across any viral social media post sharing false information about this company, you can share the correct facts and information about this.

- Rahul Tiwary

Infosys in Hyderabad - Happy Moments!

Infosys Campus in Hyderabad: Happy Moments!

Acknowledgement: Snaps taken by many people. Sorry for not being able to mention names.

Memories from Hyderabad

For the past few months, I stayed in Hyderabad. Though I lived in the outskirts, I did see places of worth visiting in the city and got a feel of the city. I found the city very friendly, peaceful and calm. There is no language problem for the Hindi speaking, as most of the locals spoke it too. Food is also not a problem.

love visiting historical places, so for one day I caught the city tour bus to see all such places. And then I visited some of the places separately. Husain Sagar Lake was wonderful, with its boat rides and Buddha’s status in the middle. Birla Mandir (Shri Venkatesh Mandir) made up of white marble on the top of a black hill is simply amazing. There is something special in it – one can only feel calmer and peaceful in its surrounding. From atom the veranda of the temple, one can see a major part of Hyderabad and Secunderabad – and it is a wonderful experience to spend time there. As a disappointment, I found Charminar an average structure – it is nothing when compared to India Gate or Gateway of India. But it is very picture-perfect as we see it on the posters. Saw Nizam’s museum, which is again not worth the hype. But the Salarganj Museum is amazing – I have not seen a grander museum than this. Perhaps no one can finish seeing whole of it. Then I simply loved the Golkunda Fort. I wished to go there again, as it takes quite some time to roam around and see it properly. We visited the Zoo also; there is a toy train which takes people around. And then there is another place of delight, called Sudhakar’s Car Museum. It is a museum of wonderful designer cars – some of the vehicles have won the designer entries in the famous Book of World Records.

Due to this stay, locations like the Hussain sagar Lake, Neckless Road, Paradise restaurant, Mehandipatanam, Lingampally, Gachibowli, Miyapur’s Talkie Town, Indira Nagar, ISB, Shamshabad (I found the International Airport as the best one in India), and Cyber City were added into my memory. I would love to visit the Golkunda Fort again for a whole day and Birla Mandir again and again whenever I visit Hyderabad.

- Rahul

Poor and Dishonest?

I went to her to get my slippers mend. She was a cobbler sitting on the road side of a location on the outskirts of Hyderabad. I guessed the price for the job would be Rs 10, or maximum 15. I haven’t seen much variation in cobbler’s charges across India. It was Mumbai first where I saw lady-cobblers; otherwise the job belongs to men in much of North India. I thought the job was slightly less demanding especially when you have a reserved small shop on the foot-path, and hence the trend would be for men to have more demanding jobs and women to occupy their place – at least in the cities. Anyways, she was doing her job and something was going on in my mind. Those days I was trying to find means to do something for the poor. I wondered if I should offer her a hundred rupee note. What if she used it to buy alcohol for herself? Should I ask her if she had young children in school and then help her with something specifically for them? My chain of thoughts got a break when I heard, “Rs 25”. What? “Rupee 25 is too much. Take Rs 10; it should be fair.”

To my surprise, she protested strongly. She started explaining about the job done which I showed to her was not much. Still, I gave her Rs 20. She said she won’t leave the remaining Rs 5. Then she commented something interesting, “You people come from UP (Uttar Pradesh) to Hyderabad and want to dictate me what should be the charge?” So it was about exploiting the “outsiders”? I got angry and asked her why she was bringing “UP” in between? If she asked Rs 100 for the job, should I give it to her only because I came from outside Hyderabad? She took a backseat hearing this. By the time two other ladies had also come to the shop and they became uncomfortable, perhaps thinking if they would also be charged exorbitantly. Anyways, I left her place after saying that I won’t give more than 20 and she could do whatever she wanted. Moments before leaving, I gave her a last glance and bewildered because I saw a “fun” in her eyes. May be such demands and encounters were “regular” for her.

Should I have given in to her demand? After all, Rs 5 or Rs 25 was not a big sum! I know that most of the street vendors are poor, but am I wrong if I expect a bit of integrity from them? And her comments on “you having come from UP” definitely gave the indication that she was treating me discriminately! Also, if people like me start giving her double the usual price, won’t she start demanding the same high price from the really poor customers too? That would be really bad. Anyways, I don’t know what I learnt from the experience, because such things happen many times in all places in this world. But one thing for sure: it broke my “charity bubble”.

- Rahul

Social Roles

The company has a very big campus in Hyderabad. It has more than a dozen buildings amidst trees and gardens. The whole campus is an aesthetic delight. The company is also among India’s biggest, with more than a lakh employees. Naturally, a lot of parents aspire to have their kids working here. And the manner, in which the company goes about its social responsibility, is a case study in itself.

Every Saturday, employees are free to bring in their family or friends inside the campus. A couple walking over the green grass, both holding a hand of their daughter or son is a usual scene. Then there are old parents, reviewing the place where their child spends major part of his or her waking hours. Not to mention, the campus takes a very different color every weekend. And it is such a delight! Many times students from local colleges also visit the campus as part of industrial visit. I believe they go back with a dream which would not only help them but also our nation. Then there are skills development programs conducted for teachers and professors. It is like a win-win strategy, much like the legendary Henry Ford’s strategy of empowering his employees so that they could buy a Ford car. The company also holds a very high position in terms of business ethics and values, and with these social interactions, it plays a very important role in our nation’s progress.

I remember the time when a college was discussing whether to close an access road which ran through its campus, for the ‘outsiders’. Locals took it to save their precious minutes. One professor suggested that we should never close it for them. A university has a very constructive role to play for the place where it is situated. To allow the locals to have whiffs of that fresh academic air should definitely not be disrupted, in spirits of the larger good.

If only all our institutions play a more constructive role in the development of our society our nation would take a faster pace towards reclaiming its past glory.

- Rahul