Scary Mumbai?: Cow vigilantes get suspicious over leather bag, ask auto traveler if a cow was slaughtered

Barun Kashyap

By A Representative
In a scary incident which has sent a shock wave in Mumbai, a middle-class writer and director associated working in a communications firm was harassed by what he terms as “self-proclaimed cow protectors” just because he happened to carry a leather bag.
The incident is particularly important, as it comes close on the heels of Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling 80 per cent cow vigilantes as “fake” and “anti-social”, asking them to shoot him instead of “killing” a Dalit brother or sister.
Posting on his Facebook timeline, Barun Kashyap points out how, on Friday, morning, like everyday, he started off from his home to work in an auto and how he was sought to be harassed on way by the auto driver in alliance with a few cow protectors.
The autodriver, says Kashyap, got suspicious on seeing his long hair. “I must say the autowala was quited curious and intrigued by my long hair and nose piercing right from the beginning. He asked me in english where do I hail from”, Kashyap says on Facebook.
He adds, “It took him a moment to locate Assam in his mind map, later confirmed it as the state near Bangladesh. At a traffic signal, when all vehicles stopped, he turned around again and saw my leather bag.”
Things did not stop here. The auto driver “leaned to touch” his bag and “concluded” that it was made of cow leather. “I refuted and said it;s made of camel leather which I got from Pushkar”, Kashyap says.
“The answer didn't satisfy him”, Kashyap says, adding, “As the traffic light turned green, the auto moved forward and so did his remarks on how because of people like me cow slaughter is encouraged. I asked him to mind his own business and drive me to the destination.”
“To my horror”, Kashyap says, the auto driver “stopped the auto near a small temple on the way to my office.” Before he could say anything, he saw the auto driver “signaling at three men sitting in front of the temple smoking.”
“All three men with red Tilak mark worn on the forehead approach the auto and start conversing in Marathi which I could not decipher”, Kashyam says.
“When I protested, the three men asked me to step out of the auto which I refused”, Kashyam notes, adding, “When I was busy protesting, one of the guys came to the other side of auto and started checking my bag.”
“One of the guys then asked my name... 'Barun' I replied”, Kashyap notes, adding, the guy further asked him full name was the next question. This made Kashyap to say it was ''Barun Kashyap Bhuyan''.
“The guy looked at the other two and said something in Marathi out of which I could only understand the word ' Brahmin'. Maybe hearing Kashyap, they thought I am a Brahmin”, Kashyap says, adding, “They left the site after bidding farewell to the autowala, the fellow cow protector.”
At the next signal, Kasyap says, he got off from the auto, noted the number of the auto, and asked for his phone number of the auto driver, “which he proudly gave to me saying 'aaj toh bach gaye'.”
The Facebook post ends with the remark, “Planning to go to the police station once done with work”, with commentators seeking the number of the auto so that it could be avoided. One of his Facebook friends commented, “I am just thinking, what if your name was Mohammad!”

Comments

Why Venezuela govt granting amnesty to political prisoners isn't a sign of weakness

By Guillermo Barreto On 20 May 2017, during a violent protest planned by sectors of the Venezuelan opposition, 21-year-old Orlando Figuera was attacked by a mob that accused him of being a Chavista. After being stabbed, he was doused with gasoline and set on fire in front of everyone present. Young Orlando was admitted to a hospital with multiple wounds and burns covering 80 percent of his body and died 15 days later, on 4 June.

Walk for peace: Buddhist monks and America’s search for healing

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The #BuddhistMonks in the United States have completed their #WalkForPeace after covering nearly 3,700 kilometers in an arduous journey. They reached Washington, DC yesterday. The journey began at the Huong Đạo Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, Texas, on October 26, 2025, and concluded in Washington, DC after a 108-day walk. The monks, mainly from Vietnam and Thailand, undertook this journey for peace and mindfulness. Their number ranged between 19 and 24. Led by Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara (also known as Sư Tuệ Nhân), a Vietnamese-born monk based in the United States, this “Walk for Peace” reflected deeply on the crisis within American society and the search for inner strength among its people.

Pace bowlers who transcended pace bowling prowess to heights unscaled

By Harsh Thakor* This is my selection and ranking of the most complete and versatile fast bowlers of all time. They are not rated on the basis of statistics or sheer speed, but on all-round pace-bowling skill. I have given preference to technical mastery over raw talent, and versatility over raw pace.

When a lake becomes real estate: The mismanagement of Hyderabad’s waterbodies

By Dr Mansee Bal Bhargava* Misunderstood, misinterpreted and misguided governance and management of urban lakes in India —illustrated here through Hyderabad —demands urgent attention from Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), the political establishment, the judiciary, the builder–developer lobby, and most importantly, the citizens of Hyderabad. Fundamental misconceptions about urban lakes have shaped policies and practices that systematically misuse, abuse and ultimately erase them—often in the name of urban development.

Bangladesh goes to polls as press freedom concerns surface

By Nava Thakuria* As Bangladesh heads for its 13th Parliamentary election and a referendum on the July National Charter simultaneously on Thursday (12 February 2026), interim government chief Professor Muhammad Yunus has urged all participating candidates to rise above personal and party interests and prioritize the greater interests of the Muslim-majority nation, regardless of the poll outcomes.

When grief becomes grace: Kerala's quiet revolution in organ donation

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Kerala is an important model for understanding India's diversity precisely because the religious and cultural plurality it has witnessed over centuries brought together traditions and good practices from across the world. Kerala had India's first communist government, was the first state where a duly elected government was dismissed, and remains the first state to achieve near-total literacy. It is also a land where Christianity and Islam took root before they spread to Europe and other parts of the world. Kerala has deep historic rationalist and secular traditions.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Beyond the conflict: Experts outline roadmap for humane street dog solutions

By A Representative In a direct response to the rising polarization surrounding India’s street dog population, a high-level coalition of parliamentarians, legal experts, and civil society leaders gathered in the capital to propose a unified national framework for humane animal management. The emergency deliberations were sparked by a recent Suo Moto judgment that has significantly deepened the divide between animal welfare advocates and those calling for the removal of community dogs, a tension that has recently escalated into reported violence against both animals and their caretakers in states like Telangana.

'Paradigm shift needed': Analyst warns draft electricity policy ignores ecological costs

By A Representative The Ministry of Power’s Draft National Electricity Policy (NEP), 2026 has drawn sharp criticism from power and climate policy analyst Shankar Sharma, who has submitted detailed feedback highlighting what he calls “serious omissions” in the government’s approach to energy transition.

Search This Blog