‘A pilgrimage of camels’: Dairy capitalism, nomadic pastoralism, and subnational Hindutva statism in Rajasthan

Hindu nationalists and NGOs proffer camel dairying as an employment strategy for Rajasthan's nomadic pastoralists, akin to the commodification of bovine milk for poverty alleviation in India. Commercial dairying however is inconsistent with pastoralist ethics though it is consistent with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's broader agenda to consolidate Hindutva at the national and subnational levels in India, and with developmentalism that regards animals as capital. In an original contribution bringing together pastoralist studies and critical animal geographies, this paper introduces species to the ‘conjugated oppressions’ in agrarian economies, currently composing caste, tribes, and class, through the suturing of (dairy) capitalism and right-wing ultranationalism. Focussing the camels and the Raika herders in the subregions of Jaisalmer, and Sirohi, home to India's only camel sanctuary, the paper delineates how the camel is entrapped in the coalescing and conflicts of dairy-based development and Hindutva nationalism. Interconnected oppressions upon the camels and herders are conceptualised and enacted through the control and appropriation of rangelands, understood as yatra or pilgrimage by the pastoralists. However, the camel is also enmeshed in the older violent histories of domestication, raising difficult questions about how nomadic and camel sovereignties may be imagined, together. Arguing that dairy capitalism will discipline the nomads and camels while strengthening Hindutva in Rajasthan, the paper draws on pastoralist worldviews as a starting point to re-imagine human–animal relations, based on an ethic of de-commodification.

Citizenship, Resistance and Animals: Karamoja Region Pastoralists' Resilience against State Violence in Uganda

Universal equality is achieved through citizenship. Despite this normative definition, the reality of citizenship differs across space and time. Against the backdrop of the decentring of state power in the wake of globalisation, when Western scrutiny focused on the peripheries of Uganda, Kenya and South Sudan, and when integrated disarmament and sedentarisation policies were promoted, pastoralists in the Karamoja region of Uganda, rather than appealing to normative notions of citizenship, initiated their own practice of citizenship in resistance to and articulation with the state order. Aware that direct confrontation with power immobilises a one-sided violence perpetration/victimisation relationship, pastoralists developed a repertoire of citizenship-related practices, including animals as co-citizens, to obtain recognition for continued nomadic pastoralism.

Nomadic Pastoralism among the Mongol Herders

This book, based on anthropological research carried out by the author between 2008 and 2016, addresses the spatial features of nomadic pastoralism among the Mongol herders of Mongolia and Southern Siberia from a cross-comparative perspective. In addition to classical methods of survey, Charlotte Marchina innovatively used GPS recordings to analyse the ways in which pastoralists envision and concretely occupy the landscape, which they share with their animals and invisible entities. The data, represented in abundant and original cartography, provides a better understanding of the mutual adaptations of both herders and animals in the common use of unfenced pastures, not only between different herders but also between different species. The author also highlights the herders' adaptive strategies at a time of rapid socio-political and environmental changes in these areas of the world.

Nomadic Pastoralism among the Mongol Herders

This book, based on anthropological research carried out by the author between 2008 and 2016, addresses the spatial features of nomadic pastoralism among the Mongol herders of Mongolia and Southern Siberia from a cross-comparative perspective. In addition to classical methods of survey, Charlotte Marchina innovatively used GPS recordings to analyse the ways in which pastoralists envision and concretely occupy the landscape, which they share with their animals and invisible entities. The data, represented in abundant and original cartography, provides a better understanding of the mutual adaptations of both herders and animals in the common use of unfenced pastures, not only between different herders but also between different species. The author also highlights the herders' adaptive strategies at a time of rapid socio-political and environmental changes in these areas of the world.

Quantitative description of the pastoral economy of western Tuvan nomads

Nomadic pastoralism persists at a substantial scale in Tuva and neighboring regions of Inner Asia. Tuvan pastoral lifeways reflect adaptations to both local environments and current economic realities. Much of our quantitative understanding of the economics of Tuvan nomads is derived from data collected in the first half of the 20th century. Accordingly, this paper provides an updated picture of the inner workings of nomadic households using data collected in Barun-Khemchik and Bai-Taiga provinces in 2013–2015. It analyzes herd composition and size, and compares the frequency of different animals kept today with values recorded in Tuva in 1916 and 1931. It then quantifies rates of provisioning hay and grain, and the production of meat and dairy products for consumption and sale. Finally, it characterizes typical costs of food, petrol, medicine, clothing, and school supplies faced by present-day herders. We advocate the collection of quantitative ethnographic data that can shed further light on the future of the Tuvan pastoralist niche.