Pramod Thomas is a senior correspondent with Asian Media Group since 2020, bringing 19 years of journalism experience across business, politics, sports, communities, and international relations. His career spans both traditional and digital media platforms, with eight years specifically focused on digital journalism. This blend of experience positions him well to navigate the evolving media landscape and deliver content across various formats. He has worked with national and international media organisations, giving him a broad perspective on global news trends and reporting standards.
SCORES of cow protectors in recent years have been accused of using violence to carry out extra-judicial activities in India, often finding themselves at odds with law enforcement, even as many won acclaim for defending the Hindu faith.
Now some of these operatives are transferring their clout into grassroots political power, where they are pursuing a hardline majoritarian agenda, according to interviews with more than 90 activist-vigilantes, as well as senior leaders of the BJP and other parties, government officials and political analysts.
They described how cow vigilantism has become a finishing school for the young men who mobilise large groups against alleged cattle smugglers and used the resulting popularity to catapult into politics.
Many are now campaigning and preparing for elections in 2024 that the BJP and allied right-wing parties are favoured to do well in.
Forty-one of the cow protectors who spoke to Reuters have been elected to positions such as village chief, town council member or local legislator in the past six years, roles that can involve governing tens of thousands of people.
Another 12 said they were lobbying their family members to seek local office.
"All of what you see: my success, my existence is only because cows have blessed me," said Vishnu Dabad, who started a cow protection force in 2014 and was elected as village chief in 2016.
He is now a full-time political campaigner in the northern state of Haryana for a party allied with the BJP, and is keen to seek higher office.
Ancient Hindu religious texts praise cows, who are regarded as deities, for their nurturing ability. But India's minority Muslims and Christians, as well as some Hindus, consume beef as part of their diet, generating some sectarian tensions.
There is no publicly available official estimate on the number of cow activists nationwide, but activist leaders said they believe more than 300,000 Hindu men in the nation of 1.4 billion are directly involved with their groups.
India's home ministry, which oversees national law enforcement, did not return a request for comment on that figure or the role of cow activists.
Reuters previously reported that some of them have stopped cow traders - many of them Muslim men - with deadly force, according to prosecutors, witnesses and the families of victims.
Some states have enacted laws enabling cow vigilantes to patrol alongside police.
While government data does not distinguish general violence from cow-related lynching, Human Rights Watch found that at least 44 people - 36 of them Muslims - were killed in cow-related violence between May 2015 and December 2018.
The independent, New Delhi-based Documentation of the Oppressed database found 206 acts of cow-related violence involving 850 victims, mainly Muslims, between July 2014 and August 2022.
The proximity of cow activists to power has raised concerns among many Muslims, who allege that some BJP members and their affiliates have engaged in anti-Islam hate speech and violence.
Modi and the BJP have denied that religious discrimination exists in India.
Cow protectors "are very powerful men…and there is a climate of fear," said Jaan Mohammed, a Muslim man whose brother was one of the first victims of a cow-related lynching after Modi took power. "I don't think this can ever change now."
Legal proceedings are pending. Seventeen men accused of involvement in his brother's 2015 killing were released on bail, and another suspect later died. Police at the time of the slaying said the alleged perpetrators behaved as if they had a "licence to kill."
Modi has repeatedly criticized activists who engage in "criminal" violence, even as his party courts their support.
Giriraj Singh, a BJP minister responsible for rural development, said his party welcomed anyone who wanted to "genuinely serve the cows".
"Anyone who saves mother cow must be respected and recognised," he told Reuters.
Half of India's 36 states and union territories have partial or complete bans on cow slaughter - most of them governed by the BJP. But enforcement has often fallen into the hands of activists. By posting videos of their raids on alleged cow smugglers on social media, they have mobilised money, as well as thousands of Hindu men.
Religious cow protection movements have a long history in India, but many activists, including Dabad, said they were emboldened by Modi's sweeping 2014 victory.
Influential right-wing organisations such as the ruling party-affiliated World Hindu Council have helped legitimise the activists by depicting them as modern-day warriors waging a war against cow slaughter.
Council spokesman Vinod Bansal likened cow protectors, some of whom he said had been killed in clashes, to brave religious warriors. He added that achieving political fame was only a side-effect of the efforts of some activists.
Christophe Jaffrelot, a professor of Indian politics at King's College London, said the Indian state cannot harass minorities openly but by allowing vigilantes to do so, it keeps majoritarian feelings satisfied.
"And now these private armies ... are being given a share in governance and power at the local level," he said, adding that they would continue their penetration of politics.
Of the 41 vigilante-politicians, eight said they joined the BJP at its encouragement.
Another eight, including Dabad, joined other regional parties because they said they had doubts about the BJP's commitment to cows and Hindu values.
A top Indian home ministry official who was interviewed on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak with media, said the cow vigilantes have managed to blend popularity with nous on local issues.
"Even politicians feel threatened by the enormous network of cow vigilantes," he said. "They have become a force of their own."
A prominent Asian doctor has been recognised for his services to the community. Prof Hasmukh Shah has received a certificate of appreciation for his contribution and services to the United Kingdom.
The certificate was issued by Seema Malhotra MP, UK Minister for Migration and Citizenship, as part of the Windrush Cymru Elders and Race Council Cymru’s Windrush work in Wales.
It was presented to Shah at the Welsh parliament by Anita Bailey, Home Office Director Windrush Unit.
Shah is the Secretary of the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO) in Wales.
In June 2018, he received the British Empire Medal (BEM) from Queen Elizabeth in her Birthday Honours List.
In 2024, the Welsh Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Jeremy Miles, presented Shah with a Lifetime Service Award for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at the international Girmit conference in Cardiff.
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Dalai Lama looks on as offerings presented by Buddhist followers are laid on a table during a Long Life Prayer offering ceremony at the Main Tibetan Temple in McLeod Ganj, near Dharamsala, India, on June 30, 2025.(Photo: Getty Images)
A SENIOR Indian minister has said that only the Dalai Lama and the organisation he has established have the authority to decide his successor as the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. The comment runs contrary to China’s long-standing position on the matter.
The Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule, said on Wednesday that after his death he would be reincarnated as the next spiritual leader, and that only the Gaden Phodrang Trust would be able to identify his successor. He had earlier said that the next Dalai Lama would be born outside China.
China has maintained that it has the right to approve the next Dalai Lama, citing a legacy from imperial times.
Rijiju: Only Dalai Lama or his institution can decide
India’s minister of parliamentary and minority affairs, Kiren Rijiju, made a rare comment on the issue on Thursday. He was speaking ahead of a planned visit to the Dalai Lama’s base in Dharamshala, where the spiritual leader will celebrate his 90th birthday on Sunday.
“No one has the right to interfere or decide who the successor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama will be,” Indian media quoted Rijiju as saying.
“Only he or his institution has the authority to make that decision. His followers believe that deeply. It’s important for disciples across the world that he decides his succession.”
China warns India over remarks
Following Rijiju’s comments, China’s foreign ministry on Friday warned India against interfering in its internal affairs and urged it to act with caution.
“We hope the Indian side will fully understand the highly sensitive nature of Tibet-related issues, recognise the anti-China separatist nature of the 14th Dalai Lama,” spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular press conference.
India’s foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the Dalai Lama’s succession plan.
Rijiju, who is a practising Buddhist, is expected to be joined by other Indian officials for the birthday celebrations in Dharamshala.
India is home to tens of thousands of Tibetan Buddhists, who are allowed to live, study and work freely. The Dalai Lama remains a respected figure in India, and foreign policy analysts say his presence gives India some diplomatic leverage in its relations with China.
Ties between the two countries deteriorated sharply after a deadly border clash in 2020 but are now slowly improving.
(With inputs from agencies)
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FILE PHOTO: Foreign tourists and their guides trek down from Nanga Parbat base camp. (Photo by AMELIE HERENSTEIN/AFP via Getty Images)
A CZECH mountaineer fell to her death on the world's ninth-highest peak, Pakistan officials said Friday (4), becoming the first casualty of the summer climbing season in the country.
Klara Kolouchova, 46, the first Czech woman to summit the world's two highest mountains, died on Thursday (3) after falling on the lower slopes of Nanga Parbat.
The 8,125-metre (26,656-foot) mountain is one of the world's most dangerous climbs with a reported one-in-five fatality rate.
"Her feet slipped from a slope and she fell into a ravine," Nizam-ud-Din, a senior local government official in Diamer district, told AFP, adding that one of her team members reported the death.
"The exact location of her body will first be traced. Once confirmed, appropriate rescue operations will be initiated to retrieve the body by using a helicopter service."
Five of the globe's 14 mountains above 8,000 metres are in Pakistan, including the world's second highest mountain, K2.
Himalayan peak Nanga Parbat earned the nickname "killer mountain" after more than 30 people died trying to climb it before the first successful summit in 1953.
The Alpine Club of Pakistan also confirmed Kolouchova's death.
"She was an inspirational climber and a source of motivation for women mountaineers," said Karrar Haidri, the vice president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan.
"Her death leaves a void in the climbing fraternity," he added.
Her last post on Instagram on June 14 from Islamabad was a photo and video of her unsuccessful bid to climb the same mountain in 2024.
"Last year, the Naked Mountain laid me bare. Stripped me to silence, to stillness, to soul," the caption read.
"This time, we aim higher. This time, we summit," she added.
The incident is the first casualty of the summer season, according to the Alpine Club, which monitors climbing expeditions in the country.
The summer climbing season starts in early June and runs until late August.
(AFP)
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Zohran Mamdani addresses supporters in Queens, New York City
INDIAN AMERICAN lawmaker Zohran Kwame Mamdani last week clinched the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City, defeating former governor Andrew Cuomo in what is being described as one of the most unexpected results in recent city political history.
Mamdani, 33, a state assemblyman representing Queens and a self-declared democratic socialist, stands on the brink of becoming New York’s first Muslim and Indian American mayor.
His win was announced last Tuesday (24) , triggering widespread reactions and placing his progressive agenda in the national spotlight.
“In the words of Nelson Mandela: it always seems impossible until it’s done,” Mamdani wrote on social media after the result. “My friends, it is done. And you are the ones who did it.”
Born in Kampala, Uganda, on October 18, 1991, Mamdani moved to New York at seven with his parents, acclaimed Indian filmmaker Mira Nair and Ugandan academic Mahmood Mamdani, who is of Indian descent.
Mamdani’s social and political awareness was shaped by the cultural and intellectual legacy of his parents, and would later influence his entry into grassroots activism and state politics, reports said.
Mamdani is married to Syrian American artist Rama Duwaji and the couple live in Brooklyn.
His strategy combined grassroots mobilisation with radical ideas aimed at transforming the economic structure of New York City. His message, focused on affordability, public infrastructure and working-class empowerment, gained traction with a diverse base across boroughs.
“We have won from Harlem to Bay Ridge,” he declared at a crowded victory party in Queens. “This is your victory.”
Among his most eyecatching proposals are a citywide rent freeze for stabilised tenants, fare-free public buses, universal childcare from six weeks to five years, and the establishment of city-owned grocery stores to counter food inflation.
In a city where a three-bedroom apartment can easily cost $6,000 (£4375) a month, his message struck a chord.
Voter Eamon Harkin, 48, said prices were his “number one issue.”
“What’s at stake is primarily the affordability of New York,” he said.
A revenue plan outlined by Mamdani’s campaign would increase taxes on corporations to match New Jersey’s 11.5 per cent rate and introduce a two per cent flat tax on New Yorkers earning over $1 million (£790,000) annually. Additional revenue would be generated through procurement reform, enhanced tax audits and enforcement against corrupt landlords – potentially raising $6 billion (£4.74bn) in new funds.
“New York is too expensive,” reads a central line from his campaign website. “Zohran will lower costs and make life easier.” Mamdani’s legislative record backs up his activist credentials. He previously joined hunger strikes with taxi drivers to secure $450 million (£356m) in debt relief, helped secure more than $100m (£79m) for improved subway services, and piloted fare-free bus initiatives.
He defended his democratic socialism last Sunday (29) and argued that his focus on economic issues should serve as a model for the party, even though some top Democrats have been reluctant to embrace him.
In an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, Mamdani said his agenda of raising taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and on corporations to pay for ambitious policies such as free buses, a $30 minimum hourly wage and a rent freeze was not only realistic, but tailored to meet the needs of the city’s working residents.
“It’s the wealthiest city in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, and yet one in four New Yorkers are living in poverty, and the rest are seemingly trapped in a state of anxiety,” he told NBC’s Kristen Welker.
Zohran Kwame Mamdani with his parents, Mira Nair and Mahmood Mamdani , and his wife, Rama Duwaji
Democrats have struggled to find a coherent message after their resounding loss in the November elections that saw president Donald Trump return to the White House and his Republicans win control of both chambers of Congress.
Mamdani’s campaign, which drew plaudits for its cheery tone and clever viral videos, could help energise young voters, a demographic that Democrats are desperate to reach in 2026 and beyond. His rise from a virtual unknown was fueled by a relentless focus on affordability, an issue Democrats struggled to address during last year’s presidential race.
“Cost of living is the issue of our time,” Neera Tanden, the chief executive of Democratic think tank Center for American Progress wrote on X in response to Mamdani’s win. “It’s the through line animating all politics. Smart political leaders respond to it.”
His history-making candidacy could also drive engagement among Asian and especially Muslim voters, some of whom soured on the Democrats after former president Joe Biden administration’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza.
“These elections aren’t about left, right or center, they’re about whether you’re a change to the status quo. People don’t want more of the same, they want someone who plays a different game,” said Democratic strategist Jesse Ferguson.
Few expected Mamdani, a relatively young assemblyman, to unseat former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, a veteran political heavyweight attempting a comeback.
Senator Bernie Sanders congratulated Mamdani publicly, calling the result a triumph over “the political, economic and media establishment.”
But not all reactions were celebratory. The city’s current mayor, Eric Adams, launched his independent re-election campaign, framing Mamdani’s ideas as unrealistic and irresponsible.
Adams did not name Mamdani during an event held on the steps of New York City Hall last Thursday (26), but he alluded to some of the self-described Democratic socialist’s positions and background.
“This election is a choice between a candidate with a blue collar and one with a silver spoon,” Adams said. “A choice between someone who delivered lower crime, the most jobs in history and the most houses built in decades and an assembly member who did not pass a bill.”
Adams won as a Democrat in his first mayoral bid in 2021, but saw his popularity plummet following his indictment on corruption charges and the subsequent decision by president Donald Trump’s Justice Department to drop the case.
In April, he announced that he would run for election as an independent, avoiding the Democratic primary that included Mamdani and Cuomo.
Mamdani’s victory in the primary and potential win in the general election has prompted strong reactions from progressives, who have cheered his campaign’s upbeat tone and focus on economic issues, as well as conservatives and some in the business community, who criticised his democratic socialist policies.
Polling now shows Mamdani ahead of Adams and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa for the November general election, though former governor Cuomo is rumoured to be considering an independent run, which could split the Democratic vote. Political analysts predict his November challenge will be formidable.
Besides Adams, Sliwa, and Cuomo, independent candidates including lawyer Jim Walden will crowd the ballot.
But with registered Democrats outnumbering Republicans nearly three to one in the city, his base, if energised, could prove decisive.
Mamdani's supporters celebrate his nomination
Earlier last Sunday, Democratic House Minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, who represents part of the city, told ABC’s This Week that he wasn’t ready to endorse Mamdani yet, saying that he needed to hear more about Mamdani’s vision.
Other prominent New York Democrats, including New York governor Kathy Hochul and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have also thus far declined to endorse Mamdani.
Trump, himself a native New Yorker, told Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo that if Mamdani wins the mayoral race, “he’d better do the right thing” or Trump would withhold federal funds from the city.
“He’s a communist. I think it’s very bad for New York,” Trump said.
Asked about Trump’s claim that he is a communist, Mamdani told NBC it was not true and accused the president of attempting to distract from the fact that “I’m fighting for the very working people that he ran a campaign to empower that he has since then betrayed.”
He also voiced no concern that Jeffries and other Democrats have not yet endorsed his candidacy.
“I think that people are catching up to this election,” he said. “What we’re showing is that by putting working people first, by returning to the roots of the Democratic Party, we actually have a path out of this moment where we’re facing authoritarianism in Washington, DC.”
Basil Smikle, a political analyst and professor at Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies, said heavy-handed attacks on Mamdani could backfire by energising “a lot of the Democratic voters to want to push more against Trump.”
“I don’t think it hurts Democrats in the long run,” he said. “I actually think it helps them.”
For his part, Mamdani seemed ready to embrace his role as a party leader, telling supporters in his victory speech that he would govern the city “as a model for the Democratic Party – a party where we fight for working people with no apology.” He vowed to use his mayoral power to “reject Donald Trump’s fascism.”
Democratic voters say they want a new generation of leaders and a party that concentrates on economic issues, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll in June. The mayoral election is scheduled to take place on November 4.
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The PAC said the Home Office relies on airline passenger records to track departures but has not reviewed this data since 2020. (Photo: iStock)
THE HOME OFFICE does not know whether foreign workers are leaving the UK or staying on illegally after their visas expire, according to a cross-party group of MPs.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which oversees government spending, said the department has not analysed exit check data since the skilled worker visa was introduced in 2020, the BBC reported.
Between December 2020 and the end of 2024, about 1.18 million people applied through the skilled worker visa route.
The PAC said the Home Office relies on airline passenger records to track departures but has not reviewed this data since 2020.
It said the department must explain how it plans to record whether people have left the UK.
The PAC also highlighted evidence of exploitation, including debt bondage and excessive working hours, and said the department had been “slow and ineffective” in tackling it.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said in May that overseas recruitment for care workers would end. Home Office Permanent Secretary Dame Antonia Romeo said overstaying was a “problem” the department was “fixing”.
Dr Madeleine Sumption from the Migration Observatory told BBC Radio 4 that the Home Office’s job-matching process did not seem “hugely effective”.
A Home Office spokesperson said the previous government’s visa policy led to record migration.