Sacrifice Becomes “Violence?”: Changing Attitudes Towards Animal Life among Indigenous Communities of India

This paper examines the shifting perceptions of animal sacrifice among Bhil Adivasi (Indigenous) communities in Gujarat, India, interrogating when and how sacrificial killing comes to be framed as “violence” (hiṃsā). Traditionally, Bhil Adivasis conceptualize animal sacrifice (vadhervu) as a ritual exchange with deities, reinforcing human-animal reciprocity and spiritual oneness. However, with the growing influence of reformist bhakti traditions, particularly BAPS Swaminarayan Hinduism, a competing ethical discourse has emerged around this human-animal oneness, reinterpreting animal sacrifice as an act of violence while advocating for vegetarian offerings. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, this study explores how this reformist critique aligns with historical Jain, Vaishnava, and devotional discourses on nonviolence while simultaneously reshaping Adivasi cosmology, ritual obligations, and divine expectations. The paper argues that this transformation is entangled with broader economic, secular, and religious shifts that are now redefining human-animal interactions.