Veganism isn't new philosophy.Ancient India imposed a strict ban on enslavement and slaughtering of animals

aishnava,state religion of Gupta dynasty in indian subcontinent,alongside with Buddhism enforced strict ban on enslavement and slaughtering of animals.

Throughout the whole country the people do not kill any living creature, nor drink intoxicating liquor, nor eat onions or garlic. The only exception is that of the Chandalas. That is the name for those who are (held to be) wicked men, and live apart from others. … In that country they do not keep pigs and fowls, and do not sell live cattle; in the markets there are no butchers’ shops and no dealers in intoxicating drink. In buying and selling commodities they use cowries. Only the Chandalas are fishermen and hunters, and sell flesh meat.

— Faxian, Chinese pilgrim to India (4th/5th century CE), A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms (translated by James Legge)Vegetarianism and religion - Wikipedia

Except you are talking about vegetarianism, not veganism. “and do not sell live cattle” but exploiting them for their milk is fine.

Can you provide a link that backs this up? The wiki page says the veganism part was from a forged document, unless I’m reading that wrong? Otherwise seems to be vegetarianism.

You need to look into Jainism.

It should be noted that these Indian philosophical concepts—particularly ahimsa and the inclusion of all sentient (aware) beings for ethical consideration—were not as widely accepted as Faxian claims. Nevertheless, they did contain elements that would eventually find their way into veganism. The fact that there are Chandalas selling meat and fish suggests that there were consumers. Additionally, a lot of Indian cookbooks discuss using meat.

But it’s highly likely that moral vegetarians have existed in India since the later Iron Age (~600 BCE).

Furthermore, I wouldn’t advise attempting to construct a case using single sentences from Vedic hymns because they only make sense in context.

It is true that the belief that animals have moral worth and ought to be treated the same as people rather than being put to death has deep origins in ancient India. Since the time of the Vedic culture, Indian philosophy and religion have essentially held that humans and all other sentient species have the same essence or metaphysical existence, and that it is morally wrong to murder them when it is possible to avoid doing so.

It’s crucial to remember, too, that in the past, it was practically impossible for any culture to create a society entirely free of animal enslavement. Horses and bulls were the primary modes of conveyance on land. The fields were plowed with them. They turned their waste into fertilizer. Wool and leather were also employed.

I guess this is fascinating, but I’m not sure why people are so fixated on whether a concept is “new” or has some sort of “ancient roots”

It’s always implied—and I believe this is incredibly dumb—that the latter gives the notion more merit. It does not prove that a philosophy is good or bad based on whether or not people have followed it for a long time. Whether veganism was “invented” by Indians thousands of years ago or by a wealthy white woman in California yesterday, I couldn’t really care less. I find it completely unimportant.

yes, the idea that killing animals is wrong isn’t a new idea, it doesn’t remotely shock me btw.

Is it really veganism, or was it just their ravenous superiority complex and pseudoscience?

The way that contemporary vegetarianism and ancient beliefs mesh is amazing.

Since India became a state in 1947, it is hard to say that “Ancient India” forbade the use of animals in research or development.

And nobody ate onions or garlic anywhere in the nation? So why are they possibly the most popular veggies consumed in the subcontinent right now? What does “all over the country” imply to this Chinese traveler?

The laws of the Gupta dynasty would also not apply in the majority of the South, Sri Lanka, or even half of the Indus Valley.

While it would be ludicrous to claim that all of them were vegan—after all, for a considerable period of time the Indian subcontinent was the most populous region on Earth—it is unquestionably untrue to argue that none of them were.