Abhijay Srekanth- Week 9



Hunger receives a universal presence in every Dalit narrative. The relationship between the oppressed and the food they consume has been documented across oppressed groups. The demonisation of the food of the oppressed is but one way the oppressors establish their hegemony, such as the racist demonisation of Chinese food in the US with the influx of Chinese immigrants in the 20th century.

Caste and food, however, have an especially tenuous relationship, especially when the questions of beef-eating comes up. While the upper-castes revel in their Hindu-upper caste sense of righteousness and (supposedly) abstain from eating beef, the labourers they employ on pittances to work the cows and later dispose of dead ones, arent in privileged enough positions to deny themselves quality sources of nutrition when Hindu-Brahmanically sanctioned foods are inaccessible.

Furthermore, to deny the Dalit their beef is to deny them their rights to consume what they want and celebrate their culture. Beef-eating is as much a part of the Indian-Hindu experience. However, with upper-caste Hindu men occupying all positions of power (the courts, the legislature), the upper-caste narrative on food has been universalized across the Indian subcontinent.   

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