Vegetarianism without vegetarians: Caste ideology and the politics of food in India

AbstractClimate change debates have helped frame vegetarianism as a conscientious choice across the globe and also projected India as a shining example of vegetarianism. Before this Euro-American vegetarians had long romanticized India as an ideal vegetarian society, and have assumed it to be based on progressive ethics. This article challenges such assumptions and complicates the Euro-American association of vegetarian dietary preferences with the ethical concerns of virtue, animal welfare, and sustainability. We contend that neither is India a vegetarian society nor is mainstream vegetarianism in contemporary India based on progressive ethics. We use in-depth interviews and extensive news reports to show that vegetarianism in India is a majoritarian political ideology associated with caste-based discrimination and violence, making it inimical to notions of non-violence, equality, and freedom. Majoritarian vegetarianism in contemporary India aims to conserve the caste system and its attendant inequalities. This study traces the ideological and repressive state apparatuses through which the fantasy and norms of vegetarianism are propped up in contemporary India. We argue that an uncritical acceptance of mainstream vegetarianism in contemporary India as a benevolent cultural preference whitewashes its discriminatory and violent nature, helps the caste system persist, and can undermine the well-being and nutritional outcomes of a majority of the Indian population especially those from non-elite social groups that have historically been omnivorous.Keywords: Climate Changevegetarianismideologycastemeatplant-basedalthusserstate apparatus AcknowledgmentsWe would like to thank our respondents who gifted us their invaluable time and shared their experiences, observations, beliefs, and perspectives about food and eating. We are thankful to Bridgewater State University, MA for partially supporting this research through a summer grant. Our colleagues Dr. Walter Carrol at Bridgewater State, and Dr. Justin Myers at Fresno State generously read earlier versions of the manuscript and gave us very productive feedback that helped us fully develop the manuscript. The anonymous reviewers and Dr. Counihan at Food and Foodways have our gratitude for engaging deeply with our work and for mounting several intellectual challenges that helped sharpen our thinking.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1 We use “upper” and “lower” caste expressly to communicate how certain caste groups are perceived and labeled popularly. We unequivocally reject the origin myths and status claims of these labels.2 https://scroll.in/article/731585/not-just-madhya-pradesh-denying-eggs-to-malnourished-children-is-common-in-bjp-run-states3 We discontinued asking respondents about their income and actual place of work after sensing hesitation in the first few interviews, and limited our question to their self-identified class backgrounds in later interviews.4 https://www.firstpost.com/living/shuddh-vegetarian-in-iit-delhi-rss-activists-spur-smriti-irani-to-dictate-hostel-food-1825509.html5 See: https://scroll.in/article/905692/untouchability-at-iit-madras-segregation-of-dining-hall-for-pure-vegetarian-students-sparks-row; https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/iit-madras-beef-festival-students-take-out-protest-march/articleshow/58924325.cms6 See: https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/eggs-chauhan-says-no-cm-rejects-govt-proposal-for-mid-day-meal-menu/cid/482385; https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/most-bjp-ruled-states-skip-eggs-in-mid-day-meal-cite-vegetarian-sentiments-118073100120_1.html7 https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/mid-day-meal-eggs-may-turn-kids-into-cannibals-madhya-pradesh-s-leader-of-opposition/story-uuvl0whufoylmlmwVdmaxJ.html8 https://scroll.in/article/662132/liberal-hindu-newspaper-reiterates-no-meat-policy-in-office-sparks-debate-on-vegetarian-fundamentalism9 https://www.huffingtonpost.in/2016/06/29/vegetarian-tv_n_10522076.html10 See: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/indore/mp-women-take-to-streets-over-meat-shops-in-ujjain/articleshow/65691680.cms; https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/travel/destinations/welcome-to-palitana-worlds-first-vegetarian-city-in-indias-gujarat/as71049380.cms; https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/haryana-imposes-ban-on-sale-of-meat-in-thanesar-and-pehowa-municipality-areas/story-dkvNYl8iIij4av81fq9MDK.html11 See: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/up-s-slaughterhouses-a-rs-15-000-crore-industry-that-provides-livelihood-to-25-lakh-people/story-7ZLE81JFynBFWzRGZFVLfK.html12 https://www.nagpurtoday.in/rss-starts-family-counselling-campaign-kutumb-prabodhan/0720185013 See: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/hindu-groups-demand-meat-ban-during-navratri-vandalise-shops/articleshow/66155539.cms; https://www.outlookindia.com/newswire/story/bajrang-dal-seeks-complete-beef-ban-death-penalty-for-defying/913955; https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/bajrang-dal-5-ransack-womens-food-stall-on-beef-pretext/cid/168398714 https://acleddata.com/2021/05/03/cow-protection-legislation-and-vigilante-violence-in-india/15 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/20/mobs-killing-muslims-india-narendra-modi-bjp; https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-6522952216 See: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/bjp-mla-justifies-lynchings/articleshow/65111591.cms; https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2019/05/03/bjp-helped-with-legal-fees-lynching-accused-minister-jayant-sinha.html17 See: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Sangh-Parivar-and-BJPs-frontal-organizations-jump-in-support-of-Asaram-Bapu/articleshow/22069963.cms; https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/sri-sri-ravishankar-to-be-chief-guest-at-rss-function/articleshow/35792283.cms; https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/26/magazine/the-billionaire-yogi-behind-modis-rise.html