Asif Ali Sandeelo

Aided by trained falcons, Arab elites have been hunting migratory Houbara bustards (Chlamydotis macqueenii) or Taloor in Sindhi. Dubbed the “heritage sport” (Wakefield, 2012) or sport of the kings, foreign elites with political power and influence pursue migratory Taloor into desert areas where Sindhi farmers and herders live. This research explores the interface of politics and multispecies relations and their impact on state sovereignty and marginalized communities through an ethnographic study of elite falconry. Analysing the role of transnational elites and the state, this study asks, “How do the politics surrounding multispecies relations (elite-state-Taloor) in falconry configure Pakistan’s diplomacy with Gulf states, challenge state borders and domestic conservation laws, and shape the lives of Sindhi farmers and herders and Taloor?” Employing ethnographic methods of participant observation and semi-structured interviews, the research will examine the political, discursive, legal, and material effects of elite falconry at urban (Islamabad and Karachi) and rural (Kohistan and Nara Desert) sites in Pakistan. This research is significant as it draws ethnographic attention to how the nexus between transnational elites and the state in falconry shapes inter-state diplomacy, refigures state sovereignty and influences the lives and relationalities of marginalized communities and Taloor.