The urge to ‘civilise’ people from the northeast, to make them seem more ‘like us’ is an itch Indian mainlanders can’t seem to get over. The ban on dog meat is the latest example.
The Nagaland government, clearly under pressure, banned “commercial import and trading of dogs, dog markets, and also the sale of dog meat” earlier this month. The ban was applicable to both cooked and uncooked meat. But can you ban something just because others don’t like it being eaten?
A lot of people welcomed the ban, and animal rights activists hailed it as a landmark decision. But as Vir Sanghvi wrote, “Object to one kind of meat and you have made the case for legally-enforced vegetarianism.”
Us versus Them
‘They eat anything and everything’ is used often as a racial slur against northeast Indians, whose diet includes meat/flesh of animals, insects, mammals, that most mainlanders would balk at.
From ants to snails to yes, dogs, various tribes and communities in the region have consumed different kinds of meat for generations, which have been also a marker of their cultural identity.
But the urge to ‘civilise’ people from the northeast, to ‘assimilate’ them still hasn’t left us.
It is the language of ‘activists’ such as BJP MP Maneka Gandhi that ensures we choose the customs we believe are right as the best for everyone in India—pluralism and democracy be damned. Not only that, we also ensure that it is legally enforced. Food is no longer a choice then, it is an imposition.
Also read: Nagaland bans sale of dog meat after incidents of pets being ‘shot at sight’ spark outrage
The activism of it
I would understand if one stood against meat-eating in general—because, no doubt, the rearing, culling, consumption and trade of animals involve deeply cruel practices.
But to eat chicken and pork while tweeting rabidly against dog-meat in China or northeast India is just plain hypocritical.
One of the ‘concerns’ raised was that dogs are a man’s best friend, often kept as pets. Would you kill a pet? But goats, cows, fish and even chicken have been kept as pets too by many in India.
Social psychologist Brock Bastian writes in detail about how humans tend to only eat animals that they believe lack complex emotions, making it easier to forget we’re killing them, or that they feel pain or complex emotions.
Chickens and goats are ‘stupid’ after all, but dogs are so, so wonderful. And therein lies the problem with the ‘pets’ argument. It’s not about pets at all, but our perception of which animal deserves to die, and which doesn’t. Which animal is too ‘cute’ to eat and whose pain we can ignore.
Also read: Urban India’s love for pets is growing. Without any rules
Who decides the ban on dog meat and beef?
In both instances of dog and beef ban, clearly the BJP-led government’s politics, aided by ‘outcry’ of animal lovers, have a part to play.
On 26 May 2017, India’s environment ministry under the Narendra Modi government called for a nationwide ban on the sale and purchase of cattle from animal markets for slaughter.
With that, the word ‘secular’ was trampled upon. It is just one cultural/religious view that sees cows as ‘holy’. For others, beef or pork is just meat, like chicken or mutton. Again, if it’s an animal you respect, don’t eat it — but to make it illegal and force your view down someone else’s throat is no vegetarianism either.
Choice of meat is sometimes as simple as nutrition, compulsion or simply a budgetary call. If one meat costs lesser than the other and is more nutritious according to a community, there’s a chance it will be consumed more.
Also read: Gobi manchurian and chilli chicken are ‘made in India’, Athawale’s ban on Chinese food futile
Level the ‘ban’ ground
If eating dogs is cruelty, poisoning them, setting them on fire is cruelty too. Every day there are stories of dog feeders being beaten up, dogs being attacked, hit and kicked, even in big ‘civilised’ cities such as Delhi and Mumbai, but that evokes no disgust. At the beginning of the coronavirus-induced lockdown, Indians were abandoning their pets by the dozens. And what did we do about it?
I am tempted to ask for a ban on hypocrisy and our discriminatory attitude towards ideas, cultures, customs, especially those of the northeast.
Views are personal.
This is a stupid article.
What’s with this Mainland India ? People have been using it nowadays.
Where does this mainland India even come from ?
Yet another yawn inducing article on The Print….are you guys so deprived of intelligent substance-centric content for your site, or is it just that the narrative this writer wants to build in this rant — ‘mainland’, ‘them and us’, ‘civilize’ — is too tempting, and such fodder for clickbait that will help you with getting a few more readers, eh?
Meat eating, copse from whichever animal it Is, is uncivilized behaviour. Humans are no longer living in caves where hunting was once carried out for food. Now, we are paying others to kill for us. Studies after studies have shown that many butchers are alcoholic leading very sad psychological lives while we sit in the comfort of our homes, having done every possible thing to make that piece of flesh look and taste palatable with basically plant ingredients – spices, vegetables, herbs….! And making uncalled for links between racism and meat eating behaviours. What about the emotions of that animal who did not merrily walk to his/her slaughter to be the “food” on a human’s plate? What about their families who were ripped apart from each other? The Covid 19 pandemic (and the ones before and more to come) as all a result of meat eating behaviours. Plants never caused pandemics. Journalists – kindly get updated and change your narratives. Your writings simply push humanity back to the dark ages.
That’s what I was expecting . great job men your notions needs to be disseminated.
Well i do get the intent of the article but do understand the whole north east does not savour dog meat. The article seems to project that dog meat is the staple diet of the whole region, whilst i do agree with the fact dog meat finds itself on the platter only in this region but its not the whole region. But then you chose to put the whole region in one bucket and that is a clear misinterpretation of the actual demographics in the region. I can understand your zeal and enthusiasm but let that not shadow other facts.
These are some facts and not my personal views.
Did this lady mean eating dog is cultural heritage. You should go to prohibited andaman island where human flesh was delecacy. Please also write a supporting article for them as well.
Dogs,chicken,cow pig any animals or classified because we humans classified them in those categories for our own convince but the eternal truth is all of them have a soul which comes under one classification.
Suggested headlines for next article
The itch of mainland Indians to ‘civilise’ andamanese tribal hasn’t gone. Human meat ban another example
I find any meat repulsive.
I find this article even more repulsive.
It makes me more nauseous, more sick to my stomach than oozing blood from raw meat, in a gory scene involving shrieking puppies, essence of love and loyalty, yelping to death, burnt, bludgeoned, or boiled alive.
RIP humanity and patriotism.
Our national heroes made India free to find a freaking nobody lecture about ‘mainland’ India for cheap publicity.
HAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAH HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for such a breathtakingly idiotic article.
It just made my day.
You just justified all the pain and torture inflicted on dogs, the essence of loyalty, love & friendship whom humans have domesticated for thousands of years for protection and companionship.
Plus, you ridiculed India and Indians.
Bravo! Temptation for publicity knows no bounds.
The shrillness is grating. “Objective journalism” indeed!