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In this episode, Marine interviews Rama Ganesan on the problematic associations that many vegans make when they hold up India and Hinduism (or even Buddhism and Jainism) as inherently vegetarian/ vegan. Rama also explains why it is counter to vegan values to celebrate India’s beef ban, to use the word “Ahimsa” as a synonym for “vegan”, or even to use quotes from Gandhi to advocate views of compassion and non-discrimination.
Sources and Links
- Rama’s presentation slides: https://medium.com/@ramaganesan/these-are-the-slides-from-my-talk-at-vegans-of-color-conference-at-dublin-vegfest-september-23-79626adcde61
- Rama’s organization, Vegan Michiana: https://veganmichiana.com/
- Rama’s Facebook page, Anti-Caste Vegan: https://www.facebook.com/Anti-Caste-Vegan-824278461115942/
- Livestream of the Vegans of Colour Conference in Dublin, 2018: https://www.facebook.com/NARAcampaignsIRELAND/videos/523350941468793/?hc_ref=ARQicw-97ayNS-rJtCbiSRd6tg4WBRRe0Psr3mfRdGg00G4RsnTjUB67qkGNAsHe0y4&__xts__[0]=68.ARBuqk3H_zCTH2zVCJuwJb3uyfsf4ir6eV4tRTapL02IToSR-oZAhMVbpSaVPc0FactXgXNQUw4PjenJJsz27pJ-WRK6TETEYKa2TZU_VOkDg7hH-MtsNkdBaITR6a9OXW3k2tdjjAnacojxsDJwkAyoWidIUkzjPI9Sq0_wJhiStknuqFPT2TXwEAXCtXg2HiDcVPVT90QcrNLI6UUw6ZSL-IfDTF8nsUq_LYbUCGcwB8EE-V9YO3k1OU_22Q&__tn__=FC-R
Books:
- Kancha Ilaiah, Why I am not a Hindu, A Sudra Critique of Hindutva Philosophy, Culture and Political Economy
- Kancha Ilaiah, Buffalo Nationalism, A Critique of Spiritual Fascism
- Ed Julia Feliz Brueck, Veganism In an Oppressive World, A Vegans of Color Community Project
- Kim Socha, Animal Liberation and Atheism, Dismantling the Procrustean Bed
- D.N. Jha, The Myth of the Holy Cow
- Sujatha Gidla, Ants Among Elephants, An Untouchable Family and the Making of Modern India
- Romila Thapar, The Past as Present, Forging Contemporary Identities Through History
- B.R. Ambedkar, Introduction by Arundhati Roy, Annihilation of Caste
Articles:
- Rama Ganesan, Veganism is not Brahminism: https://medium.com/@ramaganesan/veganism-is-not-brahminism-71ce8f2658a8
- Rama Ganesan, Vegans demanding to change ancient religions: https://medium.com/@ramaganesan/vegans-demanding-changes-to-ancient-religions-46ded205ff12
- Dalit Diva – Thenmozhi Soundararajan, Why it is Time to Dump Gandhi: https://medium.com/@dalitdiva/why-it-is-time-to-dump-gandhi-b59c7399fe66
- Anand Neelakantan, Is India really a spiritual civilization, in New Indian Express Sep 2 2018: www.newindianexpress.com/magazine/voices/2018/sep/02/is-india-really-a-spiritual-civilisation-1865178.html
- Adrija Bose, Vegetarian India A Myth? Survey Shows Over 70% Indians Eat Non-Veg, Telangana Tops List: https://www.huffingtonpost.in/2016/06/14/how-india-eats_n_10434374.html
- Arundhati Roy – The 2004 Sydney Peace Prize Lecture: http://sydney.edu.au/news/84.html?newsstoryid=279
- Will Kymlicka and Sue Donaldson, “Animal Rights, Multiculturalism and the Left” (2014)
- Amar Diwakar in The New Republic, How “Cow Vigilantes” Launched India’s Lynching Epidemic
- Leonardo DiCaprio to Rally for the Beef Ban: https://vegnews.com/2016/6/leonardo-dicaprio-to-rally-for-beef-ban
Videos:
- India Untouched: Stories of a People Apart, Feature Documentary by Stalin K.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM85zVt6xCU
- Why Am I An Untouchable?’ | Huff Post Perspectives, Sujatha Gidla: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J4dKnYYIYk&t=140s