Acharya Yogendra Maharaj, President of the Haryana unit of the Gau Raksha Dal, has built his public image around violent cow vigilantism and open hate speech targeting Muslims. In rally after rally across Haryana and Rajasthan, Maharaj has urged young men to take up arms in the name of cow protection, often invoking historical and religious symbols to justify bloodshed. 

On October 2, 2023, in Julana, Haryana, he told a gathering of vigilantes that there aren’t just two Nasir and Junaid, the two Muslim men lynched in Bhiwani earlier that year but hundreds like them, and warned his followers that anyone unwilling to kill in the name of cows has no place in their movement. 

Just a day later, on October 3, in Duni, Tonk district, Rajasthan, he said, “If you see a cow smuggler, and you have the blood of Maharana Pratap, you can kill him,” while glorifying past violence and urging youth to be ready to sacrifice their lives for cow protection, just as freedom fighters did for the country.

At a large rally in Jind, Haryana on August 2, 2023, he led chants like, “Jab Mulle kate jayenge, Ram Ram chilayenge,” openly calling for mass violence against Muslims. On December 10, 2023, speaking in Karnal, Haryana, he declared that cow smugglers were being caught every 2–3 days in Mewat and warned that they would not be let off easily.

Despite police attention and criminal cases linked to Gau Raksha Dal members, Maharaj portrays himself as a warrior under siege, using the language of martyrdom and resistance to push hate and incite violence. He remains one of the most dangerous and influential figures in the cow protection movement today.