Presenting government figures and international data, protesters underscored India’s dual status as the world’s largest milk producer (over 230 million tonnes annually) and one of the leading beef exporters (more than 1.3 million tonnes per year). The activists argued that these two industries do not operate in isolation, but are structurally connected — a contention that challenges the widely held belief that dairy and meat production occupy separate agricultural pathways.

Central to the campaign’s message was the claim that dairy animals, such as cows and buffaloes, are directed into the beef export chain once they are no longer profitable for milk production. Organisers asserted that this lifecycle means that the “white revolution” of dairy growth cannot be meaningfully separated from the so-called “pink revolution” of meat production, making both sectors part of a single economic ecosystem.

Activists also pointed to the visible presence of abandoned and injured cattle on Pune’s streets as tangible evidence of this linkage. They said many of these animals were former dairy cattle that, after losing milk-yielding capacity, were relegated to scavenging for food when rejected by the dairy economy — a phenomenon they linked to the broader dynamics of livestock marketing and meat demand.