“Cow Is a Mother, Mothers Can Do Anything for Their Children!” Gaushalas as Landscapes of Anthropatriarchy and Hindu Patriarchy

Abstract

This article argues that gaushalas, or cow shelters, in India are mobilized as sites of Hindutva or Hindu ultranationalism, where it is a “vulnerable” Hindu Indian nation—or the “Hindu mother cow” as Mother India—who needs “sanctuary” from predatory Muslim males. Gaushalas are rendered spaces of (re)production of cows as political, religious, and economic capital, and sustained by the combined and compatible narratives of “anthropatriarchy” and Hindu patriarchy. Anthropatriarchy is framed as the human enactment of gendered oppressions upon animal bodies, and is crucial to sustaining all animal agriculture. Hindu patriarchy refers to the instrumentalization of female and feminized bodies (women, cows, “Mother India”) as “mothers” and cultural guardians of a “pure” Hindu civilization. Both patriarchies commodify bovine motherhood and breastmilk. which this article frames as a feminist issue. Through empirical research, this article demonstrates that gaushalas generally function as spaces of exploitation, incarceration, and gendered violence for the animals. The article broadens posthumanist feminist theory to illustrate how bovine bodies, akin to women's bodies, are mobilized as productive, reproductive, and symbolic capital to advance Hindu extremism and ultranationalism. It subjectifies animal bodies as landscapes of nation‐making using ecofeminism and its subfield of vegan feminism.

Recognizing animal personhood in compassionate conservation

“…These examples are red herrings. The mobilization of so-called animal protection for nationalistic and racist purposes is premised on the objectification of animals, not compassion for animals (Narayanan 2019).…”

Labors of Love: On the Political Economies and Ethics of Bovine Politics in Himalayan India

“…Contemporary gau-rakshaks continue to emphasize the importance of cow milk in substantiating kinship with Gau-Mata, often referring to their labors as motivated by the desire to pay off the "debt" of the cow's "gift" of milk (cf. Narayanan 2019). Such claims about the cow's innocence and generosity, and the reciprocal obligations they imposed on her children, were repeated by multiple actors at a rally organized by the guru Kanha's organization in Delhi a few years ago.…”

The afterlives of the lively commodity: Life-worlds, death-worlds, rotting-worlds

“…Ryan Gunderson argues that capital’s “drive for self-expansion and self-accumulation is the source of the majority of contemporary food animal suffering” (2011: 260). I take as my starting point here the perspective that commodifying farmed animals does them profound and irreconcilable harm, and that dairy production delivers these harms at each phase of the commodification process from birth to slaughter (Gillespie, 2018; Narayanan, 2019a, 2019b; Nibert, 2013; Torres, 2007).…”

“…A perfect illustration here is the newborn calf whose mother’s milk is diverted into the market and whose maternal bond is typically severed at, or shortly after, birth (Narayanan, 2019b). The male calf, a manifestation of new life coming into the world, is routed immediately onto a short path to death.…”