So-called cow vigilantes have struck again, killing one man in Rajasthan and wounding several more. Gau Rakshak violence is not new, but what is changed is that the ideology they use to justify their violence - the idea of the "cow in peril" - is being amplified by the BJP at its highest level. Senior leaders and chief ministers of the ruling party keep the "cow under threat" rhetoric alive, through statements and policies. But as we uncover this week, these claims are not grounded in facts, nor in ideology, and yet they are being used again and again, regardless of consequences.
