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What Happened Between Bajrang Dal and Muslim Shop Owner
rahul gandhi meets mohammad deepak tells him he will take his gym membership dehradun bajrang dal muslim shopkeeper row
Dehradun resident Deepak Kumar, who identified himself as ‘Mohammad Deepak’ to support a shop of his friend’s father and took on Bajrang Dal activists, met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. The gym trainer and owner said that the Congress leader would come to Uttarakhand’s Kotdwar and join his gym. Deepak had earlier said that his business was impacted when he identified himself as ‘Mohammad’ for taking on Bajrang Dal activists who were allegedly harassing a Muslim shopkeeper for keeping his shop name as Baba.
What Rahul Gandhi Said After Meeting ‘Mohammad Deepak’
Congress leader Vaibhav Walia, the gym owner Deepak Kumar and his friend Vijay Rawat, along with several others, were present at the meeting, which took place at the 10, Janpanth residence of Congress Parliamentary Party chief Sonia Gandhi. Deepak also met Sonia Gandhi.
“Every human being is equal. This is Indianness, this is ‘mohabbat ki dukaan’. Meeting with brother Mohammad Deepak from Uttarakhand – This same flame of unity and courage should burn in every Indian youth,” Rahul Gandhi, who also spoke with Deepak’s wife over the phone, said in a Facebook post.
After the meeting, Kumar told reporters, “Rahul ji invited me. He introduced me to Sonia ji and also spoke with my wife over the phone. He told me that you have done a good job and I will come to Kotdwar and take a membership at your gym.”
Congress leader Vaibhav Walia, who had walked with Rahul Gandhi during his Bharat Jodo Yatra, said, “Mohammad Deepak has carried forward the message that Rahul Gandhi gave through the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ — which is of opening ‘Mohabbat Ki Dukaan’ across the country.
“We are grateful to Rahul ji for honouring a young man from Uttarakhand who stood up for humanity and love. We hope that love will prevail and hatred will lose in Uttarakhand and the entire country,” Walia said.
What Happened Between Bajrang Dal and Muslim Shop Owner
On January 26, Bajrang Dal activists protested outside the ‘Baba’ clothing store on Patel Marg in Kotdwar to pressure its 70-year-old owner, Vakil Ahmed, to change the name of the shop.
During the protest, clashes broke out between the activists, shop owner Vakil Ahmed and his son’s friend Deepak Kumar, after which Kumar, identifying himself as Mohammad Deepak, forced the protesters to retreat.
On January 31, a larger group of activists again gathered outside Ahmed’s shop and Kumar’s gym, blocked the road and shouted slogans. However, police intervention prevented escalation. Three separate FIRs have been filed in connection with the incidents.
Fresh concerns have emerged following a viral video by the Hindu Raksha Dal, in which a man could be seen threatening to march to Kotdwara on February 12 to “teach Deepak a lesson”. Local authorities have maintained a strict vigil to prevent any flare-up.
Kumar, the 42-year-old owner of The ‘Hulk’ gym in Uttarakhand’s Kotdwara, had earlier said his business has collapsed since he confronted Bajrang Dal activists. He had said the ongoing tension has made his livelihood a casualty of the dispute.
Following the incident, Gandhi had expressed support for Kumar and alleged that the Sangh Parivar is deliberately poisoning the economy and the society to keep India divided.
The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha had said that Deepak is a hero of India as he is fighting for the Constitution and humanity.
With inputs from PTI
Jewish store in India’s Kochi Run by a Muslim
Muslim man runs a century-old Jewish store in India to keep a promise, American author’s video goes viral
An American author has shared a video highlighting a shop in India that has continued to operate for decades after most of the local Jewish population left the area. The video, posted by Aija Mayrock, focuses on Thaha Ibrahim, a Muslim man who runs a long-established Jewish embroidery store in Kochi’s historic Jew Town. The shop originally belonged to a Jewish woman who mentored Ibrahim from a young age and later entrusted him with her business. The video has circulated widely online, drawing attention to the continuity of the store and the circumstances under which it has been maintained.
The story of the Jewish store in India’s Kochi
The store is located in Jew Town, in the Mattancherry area of Kochi. Jew Town was once home to the Cochin Jewish community, which had lived in Kerala for centuries. Following the mid-20th century, most members of the community emigrated, and many homes and businesses closed. A small number of sites, including this embroidery shop, continued operating.
The shop was owned by Sarah Cohen (1925–2019). Cohen was among the last Jews to live permanently in Jew Town. Interviews and reports describe her as a long-time resident who chose to remain in Kochi even as others left. Her shop sold hand embroidery and souvenirs and became a well-known fixture in the area.
As a child, Thaha Ibrahim worked as a street vendor near Cohen’s shop. She later employed him and taught him embroidery and day-to-day shop operations. Over the years, Ibrahim became closely involved in the business, assisting with customers, production and upkeep. This working relationship continued for several decades.
As Cohen’s health declined, she decided that the shop should continue after her death. According to accounts she gave before 2019, she asked Ibrahim to take over the store and maintain its character. He agreed to do so. After her death, Ibrahim and his family assumed responsibility for the business and its contents.
How the store is run today
The shop remains open under the same name and layout. It closes on Saturdays, in line with Jewish Sabbath observance, and candles are lit on Friday evenings. Photographs, embroidery pieces and personal items connected to Cohen are displayed inside. Ibrahim has stated that he remains Muslim and that his role is to run the shop and preserve its existing practices rather than adopt a different faith.
Historical context
According to historians such as Nathan Katz and Shalva Weil, and heritage records maintained by the Jewish Museum Kochi and the Kerala Tourism Department, Jews are believed to have lived in Kerala for more than two thousand years, alongside Hindu, Christian and Muslim communities. While the earliest documentary evidence dates to medieval-era copper plate grants, long-standing local tradition and scholarly research trace Jewish presence on the Malabar Coast back to ancient trading networks.
According to historical studies and government heritage bodies, the Jewish population in Kerala declined sharply during the 20th century following large-scale emigration after 1948. However, synagogues, cemeteries and former businesses in areas such as Jew Town in Kochi continue to exist as physical records of that history. The continued operation of Sarah Cohen’s embroidery shop is cited by local historians as one example of how such sites have remained in use despite major demographic changes.
Tamil and Egypt
In a discovery that has sent ripples through the archaeological world, researchers have unearthed approximately 30 inscriptions in Tamil-Brahmi and other Indian scripts inside rock-cut tombs in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, providing definitive proof that Tamil merchants travelled deep into the Egyptian interior nearly two millennia ago.
The findings, presented at the four-day International Conference on Tamil Epigraphy in Chennai earlier this month by Professor Ingo Strauch of the University of Lausanne and Professor Charlotte Schmid of the French School of Asian Studies (EFEO) , document inscriptions dating between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD across six tombs, including that of Pharaoh Ramesses VI. Of these, 20 inscriptions are in Tamil-Brahmi script, with the remaining 10 in Sanskrit and Prakrit, indicating visitors from various regions of the Indian subcontinent made the journey to Thebes, the ancient Egyptian capital.
The Tamil Merchant Who Left His Mark
The most significant discovery is the name ‘Cikai Korran’, which appears eight times across five different pyramids. One inscription specifically reads “Cikai Korran – vara kanta,” translating to “Cikai Korran came and saw” – remarkably mirroring the style of Greek tourist graffiti found throughout the same complex. The name suggests a person of considerable status within merchant guilds, with ‘Cikai’ meaning tuft or crown and ‘Korran’ signifying leader.
Professor Strauch noted that while earlier evidence of Tamil presence in Egypt was confined to port cities like Berenike on the Red Sea coast, these inscriptions prove that Indian merchants were not merely transient sailors. “They stayed for extended periods and possessed the curiosity to visit inland heritage sites far from the coast,” he told delegates.
Two-Way Trade Confirmed
The discovery resolves a long-standing historical question about the nature of ancient Indo-Roman trade. Senior epigraphist Y. Subbarayalu explained, “Through the writings of Ptolemy and Pliny, we know that the Romans came to India for trade. But it was not clear whether it was one-way or two-way. This new evidence gives proof of two-way trade that happened during the Roman period.”
The inscriptions correlate with recent excavations at Berenike, where archaeologists from Tamil Nadu joined Polish researchers last year and found similar Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions on pottery. Professor Schmid observed that among more than 2,000 Greek graffiti marks left by visitors from across the Mediterranean world at the Valley of Kings, “none of them came as far as Indian traders.”
Tamil Nadu Minister Thangam Thennarasu, who inaugurated the conference, expressed pride in the findings on his X platform. “This discovery once again tells the world that the Tamil nation is a proud nation that has crossed the seas and left its mark on world civilizations. The name of a Tamil merchant named ‘Sikai Kottan’ found 8 times in 5 different pyramids reminds us of how deeply the footprint of the Tamils was imprinted on the world trade map. These are another testament to the fact that the Tamil civilization was a progressive civilization that crossed the seas to Egypt during the Roman period and implemented the globalization we speak of today thousands of years ago.”
Global Implications
Professor K. Rajan, academic and research adviser to the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology, emphasized the importance of the discovery. “It brought to light that Tamil traders went to the interior parts of ancient Egypt during the Roman period. This is important evidence of the trade links between ancient Tamil Nadu and the Roman Empire, which are located on the Malabar coast.”