From the Passions of Kings to the Pastimes of the People: Pigeon Flying, Cockfighting, and Dogfighting in South Asia

Before the mid-nineteenth century, pigeon flying, cockfighting, and dogfighting were predominantly elite pursuits in India, a part of court recreation, and favoured pastimes of local rulers and early colonial officials. For the Indian elite and the British, these sports served as symbols of power and displayed different forms of overlapping and contesting masculinities. Later, in the late colonial era, the elites withdrew their support from these activities and adopted gentlemanly sports like cricket, tennis and hunting. The common people, whose limited contact with the British meant that they could practise many banned activities with few repercussions, enthusiastically adopted pigeon flying, cockfighting, and dogfighting. This paper examines the socio-historical transformation of these three pursuits and explains how they canvas a plurality of masculinities that evolved since the sixteenth century. Till present times, many rural people continue to practise these animal related sports in ways similar to those of the Mughal elites as a means of fulfilling their enthusiasm, demonstrating their domination over others, achieving status among peers, and reproducing masculinities.