School of Social and Political Science

Description

Dr Heeral Chhabra, History, University of Liverpool; IASH Fellow, University of Edinburgh, will present on 'The ‘Strays’ of the Empire: Street Dogs and Rabies in Colonial India'.

This talk deals with rabies, its research in India, and consequent impact on street dog-human relations in colonial India. Rabies is a global, transnational disease which cuts across regions and specie boundaries. It’s presence since ancient times is well attested. However, its global spread in 19th and 20th centuries coupled with colonial domination had adverse socio-legal implication for street dogs across the world. In Britain (and other colonial metropoles) the ‘stray’ dogs were blamed as the main spreader of rabies which prompted orchestrated efforts for their mass elimination. This eventually led to ‘dog-free’ streets in Britain and in other colonial metropoles. With Britain becoming rabies free in 1902-3, this ‘created’ reality was now to be emulated in colonies as well, problematising the very existing of street dogs. However, the lived realities of street dogs in colonial India were much in contrast to the dog-human relationships in Britain, thereby incongruent with the desired aim of street dog elimination. Juxtaposing these living realities of dogs with the fear of rabies and research on rabies (at Pasteur Institutes) in India, I seek to analyse the enmeshing of street dogs with social, political, global concerns of the Empire through the vantage points of colonial officials, dogs, and associated human groups.  

The session will be chaired by Prof. Anthony Good, Anthropology, University of Edinburgh.