Beyond Human Solidarity: A World of Interconnected Beings

Abstract

Solidarity has long been recognized as a powerful force for mobilizing collective action in public health, social justice, and political movements. Yet, despite its growing prominence, solidarity remains largely framed in anthropocentric terms, centered on relationships among humans. This framing is increasingly being questioned, leading to concepts such as more-than-human solidarity, ecological solidarity , and solidarity for the Anthropocene , which seek to expand solidarity across species boundaries. However, these theoretical developments risk remaining abstract unless grounded in lived realities.This article contributes to that effort through original qualitative empirical research with an Indigenous community in the western Himalayas of India. It examines how and why the community collectively abandoned animal slaughter, trans-Himalayan cattle trade, and hunting practices once central to their livelihoods and cultural life. Findings show that these changes were not driven by ecological crisis or conservation policy, but by cosmology, karmic belief, and moral responsibility. Solidarity with animals emerged through recognition of suffering and abandonment, sustained by interpersonal trust and relational obligations. Women played a central role in enforcing the ban through religious and spiritual arguments alongside legal, economic, and social pressures.The article argues that this case challenges dominant Western framings of solidarity as something humans extend to nonhuman others. Instead, it illustrates a relational ethic in which humans and nonhumans are understood as members of a shared moral world. Participants also acknowledged that these solidarities remain fragile and increasingly threatened by market-oriented values emphasizing individual economic gain over relational existence.