India: No Country for Beef?

On 1^st February, 2016, the event ‘India: No Country for Beef?’ took place at Warwick’s Institute for Advanced Studies, as part of the Another India programme of events. The documentary ‘Caste on the Menu Card’ (2015, Dir. Ananyaa Gaur et al) was screened. This was followed by a series of reflections by the panellists that situated the film within a broader set of contexts. The panel included Sumeet Mhaskar, University of Goettingen, Dibyesh Anand, University of Westminster and Shrikant Botre, University of Warwick and was chaired by Sarah Hodges (History, Warwick). Both the film and the panellists engaged with various ways in which dietary politics impinge on public debates and policies in India.

The event was well attended—standing room only. Issues were raised in the Q and A session regarding the multiple significations of beef in South Asia and how they became prime signifiers in mainstream discourses of defining the nation. The event was followed by lunch, showcasing some of India’s dishes from various parts of the country.