A 30-page French comic book by journalist and author William de Tamaris tells the story of self-styled gau rakshaks, and the alarming trend of vigilante violence spreading across India. Tracing the history of beef bans across several Indian states, the comic highlights the rise of Hindu nationalism and introduces French readers to the concepts of Hindutva and the propaganda for a Hindu nation.

“We were inspired to do the story after I met Vijaykant Chauhan, who calls himself a gau rakshak,” said de Tamaris, who met Chauhan shortly after the lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq in Dadri, in September 2015. It was then that he decided to work on the subject along with illustrator George H.

The authors admitted that they had harboured a number of stereotypes about India for years, but that changed during the course of their research. “Here I was, supposedly, in the land of tolerance but the hate in the discourse of so-called gau rakshaks was shocking,” said de Tamaris. “In France, people still believe India is the land of Gandhi but that no longer holds true.”

By William de Tamaris, illustrated by George H.
By William de Tamaris, illustrated by George H.