Gauri was not just a person, she was an idea, says Yogendra Yadav

Eminent journalists, writers, students, and supporters of democracy gathered in all parts of the country on Wednesday to mourn the murder of noted journalist Gauri Lankesh, who was shot dead by unidentified assailants on Tuesday night outside her residence in Bengaluru.

Protest meets were organised in New Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai to recall what Gauri fought for, what she wrote about and most importantly what could have possibly led to her cold blooded murder - eerily similar to the murder of rationalist MM Kalburgi also in Karnataka.

Who was Gauri Lankesh - A noted journalist, editor of Kannada tabloid 'Lankesh Patrike' which she took over after the death of her father P Lankesh, and started her weekly publication called 'Gauri Lankesh Patrike'. Gauri was also known for her stringent criticism of the right-wing extremism, which was evident through her works in her own publication as well in other publications. She spoke strongly on caste divide and the suppression of dissent in the present scenario.

Gauri, respected by many for her outspoken personality, did not let the death threats stop her from voicing her opinions. She in one of her speeches,, also mentioned how common threats have become under the present Government, she said, "Our fathers were also staunch critics of the establishment, but never in under the Congress regime were they assaulted, let alone death threats."

On Tuesday, Oneindia was present at the Press Club of India to cover the protest meet held against the murder of Gauri, or as Shehla Rashid and Umar Khalid said, 'political assassination' of Gauri Lankesh. Shehla, Umar, knew Gauri personaly, in fact, Umar was one of her adopted sons. Writhing in grief and anger, Umar said, "The ones who executed this act of terror, to spear fear amongst others should know, this will not shut us up, but will intensify our fight for justice and democracy."

The protest meet saw eminent journalists such as Barkha Dutt, Ravish Kumar, Santosh Bakshi, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta who all came to support the spirit and fight of their friend Gauri.

Left leaders D Raja and Sitaram Yechuri were also present at the meet and shared their thoughts on the murder of Gauri and the current situation in the country, where rationalists, RTI activists and journalists are under the perpetual fear of being attacked if they fail to toe a particular line.

Ravish Kumar called out the Government for its approach towards those that encourage extremism. He called Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah 'nakare insaan', who could not serve justice to Kalburgi who was also murdered in cold blood like Gauri. He said, "I am depressed that my Prime Minister who has been given that position by the people of the country follows someone on social media, who wrote 'Kutiya' (Bitch) on the murder of Gauri."

He demanded that the perpetrator of the crime must be brought out in the open, and the case should not be submerged like murders of Kalburgi, Pansare and Dabholkar.

Barkha Dutt also expressed her resentment on the gruesome murder, she said, "Today if we remain silent and bicker among ourselves, and if we let politicians hijack this conversation, I think we are disservice to the profession,"

"I think we have failed for not speaking up enough against rape threats and death threats, turning the other cheek is not an option, please speak up, report. Let's stand with each other and for each other."

Paranjoy Guha Thakurta said, "Gauri's murder has highlighted one other important aspect of what is happening in the country. We need to change laws concerning defamation. We call ourselves the world's largest democracy, but I can that we are one of the very few democracies where defamation is both a criminal and civil defamation."

Politician, psephologist and academic Yogendra Yadav saluted her spirit and spoke about Lankesh Patrike, he said, "Lankesh Patrike represented a very deep commitment to Kannada language and a deeply rooted secularism - very rare to see in the country, and that is the reason I suspect is the reason for her death."

"Gauri represents an intellectual tradition, Gauri was not just a person, she was an idea, and an idea cannot be killed by a person, it's only killed by another idea," he added.

Lawyer and Activist Prashant Bhushan also held a candlelight vigil to mourn Gauri's death, Yogendra Yadav also took part and many others joined the vigil to pay their respects to Gauri.

Bhushan said, "Let us resolve that we will continue the fight that Gauri, Dabholkar, Pansare and Kalburgi had started, and we will not let this flame die."

Thousands across the country promised on Tuesday to continue the fight against the forces of suppression, but the most important question remains; will Gauri's perpetrators be brought to justice?

OneIndia News