Tanveer Ahmad Chopan lost his life after jumping into a river in northern India’s Jammu on 13 April. It wasn’t suicide. Chopan, who was Muslim, was being chased by violent goons, over a crime he never committed. His body was found 20 days after the attack.
Chopan was being pursued by self-styled ‘cow vigilantes’. The cow is considered sacred by India’s Hindu majority, and killing them is against the law in many states. But rightwing extremists have weaponized this to systematically push Muslims out of the cattle trade and incite violence against them. Accusations of cow slaughter can be made even if no dead cow is ever found.
