Situating the animal presence in colonial archives: a case of the Madras Presidency

Archives have traditionally been viewed as repositories of historical records, but scholars across various disciplines have started to challenge this conventional understanding. The art of archiving the animal is a series of references with various archival records dealing with animals to differ from the concept that animals are “inarticulate”; they do not leave documents. This paper explores different archival records ranging from government records like revenue, public, public health, and education department reports, correspondences, and proceedings related to the veterinary departments holding cases in the hybrid construction of meanings in colonial India, focusing on the Madras Presidency. Archives are not just passive repositories but active knowledge production and engagement sites. This shift in perspective has opened up opportunities to explore how archives can serve as spaces for reimagining human–animal relationships and understanding the animal presence beyond traditional frameworks. Colonial archival records offer diverse government documents encompassing reports, correspondence, and proceedings. Here, I argue that the military was the beginning of the consolidation of the animal administration in colonial India. In the larger lens, the idea of colonialism was legitimised through humanitarian and instrumental animal care, resulting in the colony’s unification of veterinary medicine and subjugation of animals.