Feature
Meat Ban: Thackeray, Jain leaders meet, close the row
Mumbai: A delegation of top Jain religious leaders met Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday and drew curtains on the controversy over meat ban in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra during the ongoing Paryushan festival.
“As far as Shiv Sena is concerned, this controversy has ended. But we must find out how it all started and who is responsible for it?” Thackeray told media persons briefly after the meeting held at his home ‘Matoshree’ in Bandra East in the afternoon.
He pointed out that all these years, during Paryushan — the Jains’ holy festival of abstention – meat has always been banned in the city and there were no complaints from any quarters.
“Then, suddenly what happened this year? How has it erupted into this controversy and who is behind it all?” Thackeray wondered, after the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation banned slaughter of animals and sale of meat in the city for four days.
Following a public outcry from most political parties, including the Shiv Sena, the BMC climbed down and reduced the ban to two days.
Nevertheless, signalling that the party’s stance remains unchanged on the issue, Thackeray made it clear that people of all faiths – Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Jains – ust observe their religion within the limits of their homes.
“Nobody must enforce their religious tenets on the people of other faiths and keep it to the confines of their respective homes,” Thackeray said.
He pointed out that India is a multi-religious country with people from different faiths, it can become strong and prosper only if they all live unitedly without imposing their beliefs on each other.
Sunday’s meeting, organised by diamond merchant and film producer Bharat Shah, came in the wake of a hunger strike launched by Jain monks in adjoining Mira-Bhayander Municipal Corporation area in Thane district, where the civic body imposed an eight-day ban on meat.
The move was replicated in parts by the BMC, Navi Mumbai, Nashik and other civic bodies, leading to massive public outcry and earning the displeasure of the Bombay High Court last week, while some Jain leaders retaliated and hit out at the ban opponents.
The Shiv Sena and its rival Maharashtra Navnirman Sena led by Raj Thackeray protested here last week by selling mutton, chicken and fish on the days of the meat ban, challenging the authorities to take action against them.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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