--- description: "Muslims can continue to live in this country, but they will have to give up eating beef," says the chief minister of Haryana state title: Top Indian Politician Says Muslims Must Stop Eating Beef image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b462731aec73081/69886891524fc03053df50b4/gettyimages-487518122.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Muslims Can Stay in India as Long as They Stop Eating Beef, Top Politician Says ## Video: Watch: The Logistics Of India's Elections [Watch (HLS stream): Watch: The Logistics Of India's Elections](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/xPa9dv3m.m3u8) (1:17)  _Published 2014-05-13. Voting in India’s marathon general elections concluded on Monday, five weeks after the first ballots were cast. The poll, the biggest in world history, unfolded over nine phases, with the results expected to come in on May 16._ by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 16, 2015 6:55 AM CUT  The famous beef-kebab stall at Chandni Chowk, in New Delhi, on Aug. 20, 2014 The famous beef-kebab stall at Chandni Chowk, in New Delhi, on Aug. 20, 2014Mint—Hindustan Times/Getty Images by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 16, 2015 6:55 AM CUT A prominent Indian politician, and the leader of one of the country’s major states, has said that his call for Muslims to give up beef if they are to remain in India has been misconstrued. “If anyone has been hurt by my words, I am ready to apologize to them,” Manohar Lal Khattar, the chief minister of the northern state of Haryana, told Indian news agency ANI. He said that the ideology of his party, the ruling, right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was secular. A day before, in an [interview](http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/muslims-can-live-in-this-country-but-they-will-have-to-give-up-eating-beef-says-haryana-cm-manohar-lal-khattar/ "undefined") with the _Indian Express_ newspaper, Khattar said, “Muslims can continue to live in this country, but they will have to give up eating beef … The cow is an article of faith here.” He was responding to the recent mob [lynching](http://time.com/4060906/dadri-lynching-beef-bisara-mohammad-akhlaq/ "undefined") of a Muslim man accused of having beef in his fridge. (A subsequent investigation showed that the murdered man did not.) The 61-year-old politician called the incident a “misunderstanding” and claimed “both sides” had made errors of judgment, while also adding that eating beef hurts the sentiments of the majority of Indians, who are Hindus and consider the cow a sacred animal. “They can be Muslim even after they stop eating beef, can’t they?” he added in the _Express_ interview. “It is written nowhere that Muslims have to eat beef, nor is it written anywhere in Christianity that they have to eat beef.” The consumption of beef has become a contentious issue under the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with several individuals affiliated with the BJP justifying and defending the growing intolerance of beef consumption. Khattar has made controversial statements on other issues in the past, such as [saying](http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/on-rape-outraged-politicians-have-been-outrageous-in-past/ "undefined") that women should dress “decently” to avoid being raped. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4076068/india-minister-khattar-muslims-beef-haryana/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4076068/india-minister-khattar-muslims-beef-haryana/"},"headline":"Muslims Can Stay in India as Long as They Stop Eating Beef, Top Politician Says","datePublished":"2015-10-16T06:55:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T11:51:18.130Z","description":"Cows are considered sacred by Hindus, who make up the majority of India's population","url":"https://time.com/4076068/india-minister-khattar-muslims-beef-haryana/","keywords":["India","Narendra Modi","Muslims","Christian","beef","Hindu"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b462731aec73081/69886891524fc03053df50b4/gettyimages-487518122.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b462731aec73081/69886891524fc03053df50b4/gettyimages-487518122.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Old Delhi Markets: Famous For Foods","caption":"Old Delhi Markets: Famous For Foods","creditText":"Mint—Hindustan Times/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4076068/india-minister-khattar-muslims-beef-haryana/","name":"Muslims Can Stay in India as Long as They Stop Eating Beef, Top Politician Says"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Watch: The Logistics Of India's Elections","description":"Voting in India’s marathon general elections concluded on Monday, five weeks after the first ballots were cast. 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