Meat
other food/crops
Traditionally, meat consumption in India has been linked to caste. In western Avadh, Thakurs (a dominant caste), Muslims (of all castes and classes) and Dalits consumed meat, while the dominant castes of Pandits (Brahmins) and Baniyas (merchant caste) and the intermediate agrarian castes of Yadavs, Mauryas etc. were vegetarian. Goats and pigs and, to a very limited extent, chickens were reared for meat while small game, such as hares and aquatic birds, were hunted and consumed. A large cattle population meant that beef and buffalo meat were available for consumption by Dalits and Muslims, however the poverty of some Dalits meant that they could not afford to buy beef and instead consumed the meat of animals that had died of natural causes (daangar). As the gau raksha (cow protection) movement grew, abbatoirs in the region shut down and the consumption of beef became dangerous. Discussions about beef are thus difficult in the current socio-political climate. Meat consumption was not equal across gender even in Dalit communities, where women had a little more autonomy. As women in a household ate last, there was usually no meat left for them. Hunted meat was often cooked and consumed in the forests, away from women. At certain times of the year, meat is given up and women are usually more observant of these practices. At present, many Dalit men have also stopped consuming meat. The 'Jai Gurudev' and similar movements have convinced Dalits to give up meat, considering it impure. Further, rearing of pigs among Dalits has fallen out of practice (as pigs are now considered unclean) and mutton prices have shot up, so most poor Dalit and Muslim families eat meat only occasionally. Chicken rearing has become popular and chicken is now the most affordable meat, but even this is beyond the budget of many families. Meat eating has dropped significantly among Dalit youth, especially young women, while ironically youth from traditionally vegetarian castes have begun consuming meat at restaurants and stalls.
पश्चिमी अवध में कई जातियाँ मांसाहारी रही हैं जिनमें सवर्ण जातियों में ठाकुर, दलितों में पासी, चमार और अन्य जातियाँ और मुसलमानों में सभी जातियाँ और वर्ग शामिल हैं। पंडित, बनिए जैसी सवर्ण जातियाँ और यादव, मौर्य जैसी मध्यम वर्ग की जातियाँ शाकाहारी रही हैं। मुख्य रूप से लोग बकरी पालन और सूअर पालन करते थे। कुछ परिवार मुर्गीपालन भी करते थे। जंगल झाबर से जल पक्षी, ख़रगोश, चौगड़ा आदि का शिकार भी लोग करते थे। गोमांस भी खाया जाता था, खास कर दलित और मुसलमानों में, लेकिन वर्तमान सामाजिक-राजनीतिक माहौल में इसके बारे में चर्चा करना मुश्किल है। मवेशी पालन व्यापक था जिस से गाय- भैंस का मीट उपलब्ध था, खास कर ऐसे जानवर जिनका किसान के लिए आर्थिक लाभ खत्म हो चुका था (खेतों में काम नहीं आते थे या दूध देना बंद हो गया था)। लेकिन गरीबी के कारण दलित परिवार (जो खासतौर से मरे जानवर उठाने का काम करते थे) अक्सर बीमारी से मरे हुए जानवरों का मांस ही खा पाते थे जिसे ‘डांगर’ कहा जाता है। उनमें बाजार से मीट खरीदने की क्षमता नहीं के बराबर थी। दलित जातियों में भी औरतें आखिर में खातीं थीं और अक्सर तब तक मीट बचता नहीं था। कई बार शिकार करा हुआ मांस, पुरुष जंगल में ही पका कर खा लेते थे। कई त्योहारों में औरतें मीट खाना छोड़ देती हैं, पर पुरुष इन प्रथाओं को नहीं मानते हैं। दलित परिवारों में औरतों का प्रभाव ज्यादा होने के बावजूद भोजन के दायरे में उन्हें झुकना पड़ता था। आज कल दलित जातियों में कई पुरुषों ने भी मीट खाना कम कर दिया है, या बंद ही कर दिया है। वे जय गुरुदेव जैसे कई धार्मिक संगठनों से जुड़ गए हैं, जहां मांस खाना अशुद्ध माना जाता है। आज कल सूअरों को गंदा माना जाने लगा है, जिससे सूअर पालन भी कम हो गया है। बकरी के मांस के दाम ज्यादा होने के कारण दलित और मुसलमान परिवार कभी कभी ही मीट खरीद पाते हैं। मुर्गी का मीट सबसे सस्ता है और कई परिवार अब मुर्गीपालन करते हैं पर चिकन भी गरीब परिवारों के लिए महंगा है। हैरानी की बात यह है अब जब दलित जातियों में कई युवाओं ने मीट खाना छोड़ दिया है (खास कर लड़कियों ने), तब शाकाहारी परिवारों की युवा पीढ़ी अब मांसाहारी बन गयी है, और घर के बाहर मीट खाने लगी है।
जानकारी कार्ड
जाति:
क्षेत्र/मिट्टी:
मौसम:
घटनाक्रम
Information Cards
Caste:
Geography:
Seasons:
Media Type:
Caste: All
Geography: All
From: Tripathi, R.P. and Misra, C.B. 1964. Uttar Pradesh District Gazetteers: Sitapur. Lucknow: Department of District Gazetteers
Caste: All
Geography: All
From: Tripathi, R.P. and Misra, C.B. 1964. Uttar Pradesh District Gazetteers: Sitapur. Lucknow: Department of District Gazetteers
Caste: Dalits
Geography: All
"A few Chamar (Raidas) used to eat cow and buffalo meat. Now no one does"
Caste: Dalits
Geography: All
"Deer, syahi (porcupine) and hare meat was consumed"
Caste: Dalits
Geography: All
"Pigs were reared. For the price of 1 kg of goat meat, one could get 1 paseri (2.5 kg) of pork"
Caste: Dalits
Geography: All
"We ate daangar, the meat of cattle that died of natural causes. After eating daangar, we would bathe and only then enter our homes or drink water from there."
Caste: Dalits, poor Muslims
Geography: All
"Chickens are being reared only recently."
Caste: Dalits
Geography: All
"Women would eat less meat, they usually ate last and there was very little left for them by then"
Caste: Dalits
Geography: All
"Chaugada were hunted by men and eaten."
Caste: Dalits, poor Muslims
Geography: All
"Buffalo meat, all kinds of meat were consumed, but now due to fear they are not consumed"
Caste: Dalits, poor Muslims
Geography: All
"Goat meat cost Rs. 100/kg when I was young. Now it is more than Rs. 400/kg. We women ate plenty of goat meat"
Caste: Dalits
Geography: All
"A family reared pigs in our village, so pork was cheaply available."
Caste: Dalits
Geography: All
"At the time of marriage, the groom's family would hold a ceremony where a pig was sacrificed."
Caste: Dalits
Geography: All
"Many Dalits have given up eating meat after joining the Jai Gurudev movement."
Caste: Dalits
Geography: All
"Even now, we can hunt hares in sugarcane fields. No one stops us."
Caste: Dalits
Geography: All
"During the Ashaad puja (in monsoon), pigs were sacrificed"
Caste: Poor Muslims
Geography: All
"Even Muslims don't eat as much meat as before. Now it is goat meat only during Eid and chicken occasionally."
Caste: Dalits, poor Muslims
Geography: All
"Broiler chicken is like potato - without any nutrition."
Caste: Dalits
Geography: All
"The Brahmins told us not to eat beef, the Muslims told us not to eat pork. So we stopped eating them."
Time Line
1950s
Drainage canals were built on the sides of the main canal to drain off lowlying areas and open them up for cultivation, or for flood control. These wetland ecosystems supported aquatic birds whose population declined
1970s
Garibi hatao' (eliminate poverty) campaign
The 'Garibi Hatao' campaign was launched nationally to give land to the landless peasants. In the process, many 'wastelands', which were actually scrub forests where wild animals lived, were converted into agricultural land
1980s
Land consolidation and improvements
In the 1980s, land consolidation was taken up in Panchayats across the region. Many lands that were left fallow, which supported wild animals, now began to be cultivated
1990s
Many Dalits, influenced by movements such as Jai Gurudev, began giving up meat
2000s
Rearing of broiler chickens as a micro-enterprise picked up in the region
2010s
Under pressure from cow vigilantism and cow slaughter bans, village-level cattle markets closed and farmers could no longer earn a livelihood by rearing and selling cows and bulls. They instead shifted to goat rearing. However, this is almost entirely a commercial enterprise, with very little goat meat consumed by these families