I’ve been a vegan for close to 5 years now. I don’t necessarily initiate discussions on my veganism with friends and peers (my decisions to not pay for non-vegan food has provoked such debates), but recent debates have forced me to more acutely think, reflect read and write on this intersection of being a vegan, caste, being progressive, all in the contexts of our geography and culture (not to say that I haven’t wanted to write for years now). To understand different perspectives on this intersection, I’m creating this reading list. If you would like to add to this, please email at adhavan[dot]sivaraj16[at]gmail[dot]com, or dm on Twitter / Bluesky
The list is not being vetted for quality at the moment for I have met very few vegans in real life, and have had only one vegan friend so far. This makes me want to real all perspectives on this, not just what is celebrated as a valuable insight.
In no particular order:
THE FUNAMBULIST MAGAZINE. ‘Veganism Should Be Anti-Caste’, 27 August 2020. https://thefunambulist.net/magazine/politics-of-food/veganism-should-be-anti-caste-by-rama-ganesan
Karpagam, Dr Sylvia. ‘Whether One Is Casteist or Anti-Caste, Veganism Is Not a Solution’. The News Minute, 8 October 2022. https://www.thenewsminute.com/voices/whether-one-casteist-or-anti-caste-veganism-not-solution-168675.
‘The Politics of Eating Animals in India - Culture & Animals Foundation’, 9 August 2023. https://cultureandanimals.org/eating-green-in-the-time-of-saffron-the-politics-of-eating-animals-in-india/.
‘The Most Hurtful Arguments I Hear against Veganism in India’. Reddit Post. R/Vegan, 10 July 2022. https://www.reddit.com/r/vegan/comments/vvptld/the_most_hurtful_arguments_i_hear_against/.
‘The Swaddle. ‘Is Veganism More Ethical Than Eating Meat?’ Respectfully Disagree. Accessed 9 November 2024. https://www.theswaddle.com/is-veganism-more-ethical-than-eating-meat).
Mukherjee, Rheea Rodrigues. ‘Being Vegan and Anti-Caste: Why We Need to Hear from Marginalised Communities’. The News Minute, 19 September 2022. https://www.thenewsminute.com/voices/being-vegan-and-anti-caste-why-we-need-hear-marginalised-communities-168030.
Narayanan, Yamini. Mother Cow, Mother India. Navayana, 2023. (Reading currently (Dec 2024), is a must read amalgamation of many enquiries: into pre, post independant India developmental attitudes on the industratialisation of the dairy industry, the current reality of the industry with serious groundwork and arguments on truly empathizing and reading animal or non-human realities.)