About the Lecture

Delhi’s Meatscapes traverses the varied landscapes of meat in different contexts hence the title Meatscapes. In doing so, it follows the transformation of the animal to diverse commodities and the trajectory from the farm to the meat shop. By examining the domain of the Qureshis, Ahmad engage with issues which link to larger questions relating to a transforming city and country—questions which engage with urban policies and transformations, linkages between agriculture and industry; the working lives of a marginal occupational group, dynamics of the meat sector, the palpable sensitivity of meat in India and the challenges and response of a community that seeks to protect its identity and occupation within the framework of democratic politics in India. Ahmad’s attempt is to understand Qureshi lives, their linkages with the other butchers, the relation vis-à-vis other Muslims, with their competitors, and their engagement with the state.

About the Speaker

Zarin Ahmad is an independent scholar affiliated to the Centre de Sciences Humaines, Delhi. Zarin is trained in Political Science and South Asian Studies at the University of Calcutta, and Jawaharlal Nehru University Delhi; and works at the intersection of history, politics and urban anthropology.