Yamini discusses her expertise as a combination of Animal Studies, Development Studies, and Geography, especially in a South Asian context. Asia – and specifically South Asia/India – has always been central to her work, including what Yamini considers to be her best work (the monograph Mother Cow, Mother India) as well as her forthcoming project about Animals and Borders in South Asia. She works mainly with activists rather than academics in her fieldwork. Yamini has been a member of both ASAA and SASSA, and has won prizes in both Associations. She served as Regional Editor (South Asia) at Asian Studies Review. Yamini believes Animal Studies to be one of the most exciting topics in Asian Studies, and thinks that Asian Studies should seek to clarify its relationship with disciplines such as Geography in order to solidify its position in academia and to raise the salience of its many contributions.

Watch Yamini’s interview below or on the ASAA’s youtube channel here. See the other interviews in the series here.