Biography: Why is Moral Attention to the Animal so Repulsive?

The chapter traces the lives of three female welfarists—Savitri Devi Mukherji, Crystal Rogers, and Rukmini Devi—working in India during World War II to answer the question of why moral attention to the animal in India inspires such antagonistic sentiment. The chapter argues that both Hindu fascism and the affective history of British liberalism are key components of antivegetarianism in India. But in telling the stories of these three women together, the chapter shows that there are two other components that are less readily visible: the fear of a queer (non)future, and the rise of Aunty Nation.