Afterword

Abstract

The distinction between ‘essential’ and ‘non-essential’ parts of a religion is crucial in modern Indian law because the freedom of religion guaranteed by the Constitution only covers the former. Indian judges have normally ruled that animal sacrifice is not an essential ritual, but as these Indian and Nepalese case studies show, their reasoning has changed over time and place and responded differently to external pressures. The ‘judicialisation and politicisation’ of sacrifice thus vary considerably, but some generalisations are possible. First, the scale and frequency of animal sacrifice (bali) are in decline, not least because Hindus throughout South Asia increasingly dislike and condemn it. Second, although blood sacrifice is declining in modern Bengal (and parts of Assam and Orissa), it is still widespread among all classes and castes in worshipping the fierce goddesses Durga and Kali. In south India, parts of western India and, with some qualifications, the Himalayan foothills, however, the relationship between bali and vegetarian worship (puja) is hierarchical; animals are sacrificed only to non-Sanskritic village deities, predominantly patronised by villagers, the poor, lower classes and lower castes. Third, contemporary objections to sacrifice are often continuous with ancient ones, but tend to be more explicitly ethical, emphasising the immorality of animal cruelty or slaughter. Sometimes, however, objections are motivated by status considerations, as when low castes abandon sacrifice and adopt vegetarian diets. Many educated, urban, middle-class Hindus condemn sacrifice as a superstition, inappropriate for a modern civilised nation. The arguments invoked depend on the social, religious and historical context. Some judges and officials are trying to make law, not just apply it, and some do so more convincingly than others. One important finding of this book is that modern Indian law on animal sacrifice is made not only by Supreme Court judges, but also by lower-court judges, lawyers, government officials, politicians, activists and myriad ordinary citizens.