What question did this study set out to answer?

Examine the cultural, political, and social dynamics of chicken consumption in contemporary India across intersections of caste hierarchy, religious identity, and market growth.

August 19, 2026Journal of Contemporary AsiaOpen Access

Chicken Nation: Permissibility, Power, and the Social Life of Meat in India

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Authors

ADAssa DoronAustralian National University IRIra RajaUniversity of Delhi

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Implication

Qualitative analysis uncovers how poultry consumption reinforces caste and religious hierarchies in India, indicating that market growth normalizes dietary distinctions.

Key Points

Examine the cultural, political, and social dynamics of chicken consumption in contemporary India across intersections of caste hierarchy, religious identity, and market growth.
Conducted qualitative analysis integrating ethnographic fieldwork, media discourse, and literary and visual materials.
Tracked structural shifts in the poultry industry and consumer practices following economic liberalization since the late 1980s.
Identified chicken as an engine of permissible meat consumption that normalizes caste and religious divisions across domestic kitchens, roadside stalls, and fast-food chains.
Observed that symbolic frameworks dividing home food and outside food (ghar ka khana and bahar ka khana) sustain social hierarchy and ritual classification within modern commercial networks.

Cite This Study

Doron et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a85638803308d306e2d6b1a https://doi.org/10.1080/00472336.2026.2707540

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Implication

Qualitative analysis uncovers how poultry consumption reinforces caste and religious hierarchies in India, indicating that market growth normalizes dietary distinctions.

Chicken Nation: Permissibility, Power, and the Social Life of Meat in India

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Chicken Nation: Permissibility, Power, and the Social Life of Meat in India

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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