Chandigarh: A day after Times of India reported about an article in a monthly magazine of Haryana education department which said that beef is one of the best dietary sources of iron, the Manohar Lal Khattar government on Thursday sacked the editor of the magazine.
State education minister Ram Bilas Sharma said Devyani Singh, editor of the publication, Shiksha Sarthi, has been removed from the post.
The state government, which has banned beef in all its forms, took the step ignoring experts who said that there is enough evidence to show that both the author and the editor had only stated a scientific fact.
Sharma said cow has the ‘status of mother in India’, and Haryana has a stringent law against cow slaughter and related offences. Haryana is the first state to pass a law mandating a 10-year jail term for cow slaughter.
“Such an article should not have been published in a Haryana magazine. The editor of the magazine has given a justification that the article was based on scientific research and recommendations. We have relieved the editor from the post and further action would be taken in this concern,” said Sharma, who is also the patron of the periodical.
Khattar, who is the magazine’s chief patron, had earlier sparked a row after he allegedly said in an interview that Muslims would have to give up beef if they wanted to live in India.
However, experts and dieticians supported the article titled ‘Iron: Vital for strength’, saying the write-up has merely stated some scientific facts which are irrefutable. They said even the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and other such bodies recommend beef as source of iron.
Sunita Malhotra, dietician at Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, said, “If we keep religious issues apart, there is nothing illegal to suggest that beef is a source of iron”.
Madhu Sharma, an eminent dietician who has also worked at PGIMER, said it is an undisputed fact that beef is a source of iron. She, however, said that there are other good sources of iron as well.
Aarti Bajaj, a senior dietician from Panchkula, said research carried out internationally and at ICMR has proved that beef is a very good source of iron and protein. She, however, added that animal meat is high on saturated fats.