'Zarin Ahmad's book is not only an in-depth ethnography of the Qureshis (Muslim community of butchers) of Delhi showing all the facets of their life, at the family level, in the urban space and in the local economy: it is also a study of the marginalization of Muslims in an Indian megalopolis, and even more interestingly of the place of meat in a Hindu-dominated city. The 'beef ban' introduced by some BJP governments after 2014 makes it even more topical.'
-Christophe Jaffrelot, senior research fellow, CERI-Sciences Po/CNRS, Paris, France
'This is a model work of scholarship: richly researched, closely argued, and lucidly written. It effortlessly crosses geographical and disciplinary boundaries to narrate the interlinked histories of a community, the Qureshis; a commodity, meat; a city, Delhi; and a country, India. The book should attract a wide readership within and outside the academy.'
-Ramachandra Guha, historian, Bengaluru, India