Thousands protest Lankesh murder in Bengaluru

Thousands protest Lankesh murder in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: Thousands of social activists, journalists, people’s forums and various political party workers from across the country on Tuesday held a protest meet at Central College Grounds here to condemn the murder of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh.

A ‘resistance meeting’ was held here where renowned journalists, activists and thinkers from demanded that the Karnataka government “hastens” the Special Investigation Team’s (SIT) probe into the murder.A
The 55-year-old editor of Kannada weekly tabloid by her name “Gauri Lankesh Patrike” was gunned down by unidentified men outside her home in the city suburbs on September 5.

Those present at the protest venue included CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, noted social activist Medha Patkar, journalists P. Sainath and Sagarika Ghose and civil rights activist Kavita Krishnan among others.

Lankesh’s family members, mother Indira Lankesh and brother Indrajit Lankesh were also present.

A commemorativeAedition of the Kannada tabloid “Gauri Lankesh Patrike” was launched at the venue.

Addressing the gathering, Patkar questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence on the killing.

“Why is the Prime Minister of the country silent on Gauri Lankesh killing even after a week?” she asked.

Sainath said: “The killings aren’t over. There will be more, unless we stop them. What we’re up against is the largest machine of hate.”

Protesting journalists, activists and thinkers came out with a list of demands/decisions pertinent to Lankesh’s killing through a statement.

“The inquiry which is underway through the SIT formed by the state government should hasten and complete its enquiry and identify the powers behind the murder,” said the statement.

“We are all witness to how several organisations and individuals affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Hindu Jagarana Vedike, Vishva Hindu Parishad et al have been celebrating Gauri Lankesh’s murder,” the protesters said.

“We at the resistance meeting condemn this inhuman behaviour, which is not supported by any religious teachings.

“Gauri Lankesh was murdered only to silence the voice of humanity and democratic struggles that she represented,” the statement said.

“Those of us here would like to tell her murderers loud and clear: ‘I am Gauri, we are all Gauri’,” it added.A

Wearing black head bands that read “I am Gauri”, the protesters took out the march from the city railway station to the Central College Grounds.

Members of the Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist-Liberation, Karnataka Janashakthi, Aam Aadmi Party and several student groups were also part of the rally.

Those protesting were seen singing protest songs, raising slogans like “Gauri Lankesh Amar Rahe” (Long live Gauri Lankesh) and demanding that Lankesh’s assailants be brought to book.

The progressive forum “Gauri Lankesh Hatya Virodhi Vedike” took out the rally.

“The forum of progressive thinkers, writers, social activists, artistes and intellectuals was formed last Friday to fight against Lankesh killing and decided to hold the national-level ‘resistance convention’ here,” the forum convenor K. Leela had told reporters on Monday.

#IAmGauri protest gains momentum in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: Progressive activists, writers, thinkers and hundreds of citizens came together on Tuesday to protest the recent murder of senior journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh by some unknown assailants.

Sporting black badges that read – #IAmGauri – the protesters took out a rally from the Sangolli Rayanna Railway Station to the Central College grounds, where a protest meeting was held. Over 300 policemen were deployed in and around the Central College.

Choking with emotion, Gauri’s mother Indira Lankesh said: “She [Gauri] fought with every fibre of her body. For me, all of you are my Gauris.”

Social activist Teesta Setalvad recalled her association with Gauri. “Though we are of the same age, she called me her little sister, as I had a lot to learn from her. The only thing bearable in the death is the support that has come now. We can’t let cohesion resistance go in vain,” she said.

She also said Gauri believed that the youth were the real opposition. “She had a rational outlook and believed in the freedom of questioning. No majoritarian fascist can take it away from us. We can’t afford to be sectarian under individual flags. We can’t let the death go in vain.”

Chandrashekar Patil, writer, read out a poem as a tribute to Gauri. “A few years ago, I was Dabholkar… then, Pansare. And, two years ago, when my classmate, colleague and comrade M.M. Kalburgi was assassinated, I became Kalburgi. Now, I’m Gauri,” he said.

CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said, “I’m here as a foot soldier of Indian democracy and idea of India. It isn’t abstract. It’s concrete and alive. It can coexist only if there is opportunity to discuss and debate without bullets to kill. That’s the spirit to kill caste, religious minorities. The battle of ideas is the idea of India. My India doesn’t remain if it is killed through bullets.” He added that the country had lost a person who disagreed verbally, who was an active participant and who never eliminated ideas.

“What has happened with Gauri is unacceptable and is not an isolated incident. We’re here because we’re now realising that we are in the path of a movement where those in authority and power are creating a totalitarian state. It is the antithesis of India,” he said.

While referring to the RSS and the BJP filing cases, he said that one cannot be cowed down. “Remember, Mahatma Gandhi was a victim of the Hindu Rashtra and those against diversity.”

Acclaimed Kannada writer and Dalit activist Devanur Mahadeva said that when India got Independence, there were dreams of an ideal Indian society, of how it should be in the future. “What has happened now? Our mentality is going backwards. The dream has become a nightmare. Now, the majority is ‘Indianness’. And Kalburgi, Gauri are being killed as the majority marches on.”

It is not just intellectuals, even religious heads are facing threats, claimed Shivamurthy Swamiji of Chitradurga Muruga Mutt.

Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar said that the coming together of so many voices on one stage was reason for optimism. “Those who want to crush, not just the Constitution, but aspirations of equality are in power today,” she remarked.

A special edition of Gauri Lankesh weekly was released.