Abstract

Many of the controversial actions of the central and state governments in India in recent months—from strengthened anti-slaughter laws to the issuing of ‘identification cards’ to cattle—have been made in the name of animal husbandry or breed improvement. Such gestures are generally understood to be superficial, and recent. They have been attributed to post-colonial influences: the pressure of India’s Constitution on cow protectionist legal strategy, or the pressure of national planning and ‘modernisation’ on cow protectionist institutions. This essay argues that breed improvement has been integral to the politics of cow protection since the early decades of the twentieth century. Breed improvement has long been a central component of cow protectionist arguments and activity. It has been the basis for an alliance with the state that began in the colonial period and continues to the present. Far from superficial, breed improvement is integral to the cow protectionist discourse that supports vigilante violence today.

摘要

近几个月来，印度中央政府和州政府采取的许多有争议的行动都是以畜牧业或改良牲畜的名义采取的，从加强反屠杀法律到向牛发行“身份证”。通常将这种手势理解为肤浅的和近期的。它们被归因于后殖民时期的影响：印度宪法对奶牛保护主义法律战略的压力，或国家计划和“现代化”对奶牛保护主义机构的压力。本文认为，自20世纪初期以来，品种改良一直是母牛保护政策不可或缺的一部分。长期以来，改良品种一直是奶牛保护主义论据和活动的重要组成部分。它是从殖民时期开始一直延续到现在的与国家结盟的基础。品种改良远非肤浅，它是支持当今警惕暴力的奶牛保护主义言论不可或缺的一部分。