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While, a lot has been written about the need to 'decolonize' animal studies and wildlife conservation, there is no discussion or attempt to 'de-brahminize' animal studies and conservation science in India. Similarly, some animals and birds are positioned as superior in the Brahmanical social order, others seem to be subordinated and are associated with certain 'inferior' caste groups. Beings and Beasts discusses the relations between humans and animals of marginalized societies, especially of Dalits and Tribals. It analyses the various ways of perceiving the 'conjoint' living and examines it from multiple perspectives and disciplinary lenses.
‘In this powerful book, the contributors draw our attention to the insidious and oppressive caste hierarchies that categorise humans and animals alike. They challenge the caste-imposed order, which relegates Dalits and tribals as inferior and impure because of their association with certain animals, occupations and food practices. The book examines how Dalit and tribal worlds are inextricably connected with the lives of animals in a relationship of care. By foregrounding anti-caste politics, the book offers a much-needed perspective of the marginalised voices in India’s environmental discourse.’
Dolly Kikon - University of California
‘This book, for the first time in environmental studies, examines the human-animal relationship from the perspective of marginalised populations - Dalits and tribals - and the marginal region of Northeast India, thereby addressing a historical gap in mainstream animal studies. The book offers a distinctive blend of positionality, lived experience, fieldwork and academic research to explore the intersection of caste, animals and Dalit identities, the animals in Dalit-tribal lives, the cultural representations of animal relationships, and animals as metaphors of identity and resistance. This multidimensional work envisions an alternative multispecies world rooted in dignity and justice.’
Mukul Sharma - Ashoka University
‘A fabulous collection that covers literary, sociological and cultural frontiers in the emerging scholarship on caste and ecology. It will serve as a reference for new research in the fields of caste, South Asia, animal studies and media studies.’
Suraj Milind Yengde - Harvard University
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