Between Faith And Flesh: A Constitutional Tussle Of Animal Welfare In Pluralistic India
- IJLLR Journal
- Aug 7
- 1 min read
R. Tejeswini, National Law University Odisha
ABSTRACT
The article takes a close look at the ideological clashes and cultural barriers behind animal welfare law in India and makes the argument that constitutional rights to equal treatment and secularism don’t quite fit with a religiously motivated classification system of animals where the cow is a special, almost sacred figure while other animals remain unprotected from the everyday cruelty inflicted on them. Based on a B.R. Ambedkar’s historical account of cow-cult as a caste-solidification tool instead of a benevolent act, the essay describes how Article 48 of the Directive Principles, State level prohibitions of slaughtering and the courts’ changing attitude to Jallikattu in Animal Welfare Board of India v. A. Nagaraja and finally a reversal of that decision in 2023 shows selective animal welfare decisions under the influence of majoritarian sentiment and caste politics and not based on an animal’s ability to suffer. And, the article examines the disunified legal system regarding the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, the Wildlife (Protection) Act, and subordinate laws on animal experimentation, performance animals, and stray-dog management, that reveals not only a legal but also a cultural dimension to the protection given, without reference to common ethical principles. Finally, the article considers whether a secular, caste-neutral vegan ethic of universal sentience can supply the coherence that current law lacks, while remaining attentive to the economic and cultural stakes such a shift poses for Dalit and minority communities. It concludes that a genuinely pluralistic and constitutionally consistent animal welfare regime requires replacing symbolic, hierarchy- preserving protection with a universal ethic of compassion.
