Sacred Cows and Chicken Manchurian: The Everyday Politics of Eating Meat in India

Challenges popular generalizations about cow protection and beef consumption

Bovine politics exposes fault lines within contemporary Indian society, where eating beef is simultaneously a violation of sacred taboos, an expression of marginalized identities, and a route to cosmopolitan sophistication. The recent rise of Hindu nationalism has further polarized traditional views: Dalits, Muslims, and Christians protest threats to their beef-eating heritage while Hindu fundamentalists rally again...