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Thousands of Indians are due to protest against rising attacks on Muslims and Dalits (formerly untouchables) by vigilante cow protection groups.
Protests are being held in 16 Indian cities and also in London, Boston, Toronto and Karachi, protest organiser Saba Dewan told the BBC.
The campaign, #NotInMyName, started with a Facebook post she wrote after a Muslim teenager was killed last week.
Many Hindus consider the cow a sacred animal.
Wednesday's protests come amid reports that a Muslim dairy farmer in Jharkhand state was assaulted and his house was set on fire after the carcass of a cow was found at his door on Tuesday afternoon
Cow slaughter is banned in several Indian states and those found violating the law can be jailed for up to 10 years. The parliament is also considering a bill to bring in the death penalty for the crime.
But ever since the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in the summer of 2014, vigilante cow protection groups have been emboldened and there have been several attacks on Muslims and Dalits, for whom beef is a staple.
Nearly a dozen people have been killed in these attacks over the past two years. Targets are often picked based on unsubstantiated rumours and Muslims have been attacked for even transporting cows for milk.
Protests under the banner #NotInMyName are being organised in 16 Indian cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Allahabad as well as in London on Wednesday. Gatherings are also planned for later in the week in Toronto, Boston and Karachi.
The biggest protest is expected at Delhi's Jantar Mantar monument, Ms Dewan said.
The documentary filmmaker said she was "shattered" when she heard about last Thursday's attack on 16-year-old Junaid Khan, who was killed by a mob of about 20 men on a train in the northern state of Haryana while returning home from Eid shopping in Delhi.
Her anguished Facebook post has managed to galvanise a large number of Indians, with thousands pledging to participate in the protests.
"The protest is against this systematic violence against Muslims and Dalits that is going on in our country at the moment," Ms Dewan said.
"Junaid's killing was a shattering moment for me, and also for a lot of other people. I started crying when I heard about his murder.
"We've always been saying we should protest, but there's been no leadership. So we decided to do this ourselves. How long can you keep waiting till the cows come home?" she added.
Families of Junaid Khan and dairy farmer Pehlu Khan, who was murdered by a Hindu mob in April, are due to attend the protest in Delhi.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-40428067
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, how you assumed that ???
