Animal Husbandry and Social Reproduction: A Case Study from Haryana

The paper explores how petty commodity producing (PCP) households employ regional social and patriarchal norms to exert control over women’s labour power, particularly with respect to women’s labour in the household. It draws on primary field evidence from southern Haryana to argue that animal husbandry, for which labour is expended by married women, is primarily oriented towards meeting the nutritional and consumption requirements of PCP households of the dominant caste and that the sale of output is aimed at meeting cash input requirements. Animal husbandry is therefore a productive activity aimed at meeting reproduction needs. Consumption practices and the labour process in animal husbandry of milch animals are rooted in their socio-cultural association with the Ahir identity, which enables their continuation despite the low monetary returns from animal husbandry. Among landless households, animal husbandry is more actively pursued as an income-generating activity, and women exhibit greater control over decision-making. The difference in the place of animal husbandry in the livelihood strategies of the dominant caste and Scheduled Caste households indicates the complex interplay of economic activities, social identity, and gender norms in this region.