Date: 31 March 2021.

Short Abstract: In this talk, I explore transformations in pigeons’ status in South Asia from a symbol of love and peace to an instrument for espionage and argue that European colonizers’ usage of pigeons in WWI and WWII have influenced the post-colonial status of the bird in the Indian subcontinent.

Long Abstract: Recently in India, some Pakistani pigeons have been detained as potential spies. In this talk, I trace the history of transformations in pigeons’ status in South Asia—from a bird of peace, a carrier of messages, a companion for play, an actor for expressing love, to a war animal blamed for espionage and for carrying “undercover” secretive missions. While exploring these transformations, I contend that a post-colonial discourse of “spy pigeons” in South Asia has emerged through a prolonged history of European colonial interaction with the bird, as evident through the pigeon’s usage in WWI and WWII. I conclude by showing how against this backdrop of “spy pigeons,” there is an emerging resistance in India and Pakistan that seeks to re-establish the bird’s status as an animal of love and play. This talk is based on a mixed-method approach involving ethnography, analysis of historical achieves, and a close examination of textual material including colonial and contemporary Urdu literature.