Actions for Chapter 2 Animal sacrifice on trial : Moral reforms and religious freedom in India

Email RIS file
Bookmark
Report an Issue

Chapter 2 Animal sacrifice on trial : Moral reforms and religious freedom in India

Author
Berti, Daniela
Published
[Place of publication not identified] : Taylor & Francis, 2024.
Physical Description
1 electronic resource (53 pages)
Access Online

Availability

I Want It
I Want It

Finding items...

Language Note
English
Restrictions on Access
Open Access Unrestricted online access
Summary
Animal sacrifices are commonly practised in Himachal Pradesh on various occasions, including public festivals at the district level. Over recent years criticism of the practice has increased and some cases have been brought before the court. This chapter focuses on three court cases that were jointly decided in 2014 by the Himachal Pradesh High Court, where the judge ruled a total ban on animal sacrifice in the state of Himachal Pradesh. The case is still pending at the Supreme Court which means that it may potentially have an impact at national level. I first consider the context of this controversy, and the official and unofficial discourses of those involved in the case. Based on the court file, newspapers and ethnographic data, I then analyse the judicial handling of the case, which refers to legal, ritual, or reformist arguments or to animal welfare. The last section draws a comparison with a case concerning animal sacrifice in the Santeria religion, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, in order to bring out differences in the legal approaches in the two cases despite being both grounded in common law. It shows how, contrary to the legal handling of this issue in the Santeria case where the main concern is to protect religious freedom, in the Himachal Pradesh case the judge explicitly and repeatedly appealed to the role of the court in defining religion (as opposed to superstition), and to the court's responsibility in favouring 'moral progress' and promoting religious reforms.
Subject(s)
Other Subject(s)
ISBN
9781003284949 (3)
9781032257686
9781032318134
Collection
OAPEN Library.
Funding Information
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Terms of Use and Reproduction
Creative Commons https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
View MARC record | catkey: 41325168