Bengaluru seeks justice for Gauri
People from all walks of life take out rally, call on SIT to expedite probe into murder of senior journalist
BENGALURU: A protest celebrating the life of slain journalist Gauri Lankesh on Tuesday turned into a congregation of the various movements she took part in.
The rally was held exactly a week after Lankesh was gunned down outside her house on September 5 by unknown assailants.
The rally began from the Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna railway station in the heart of the city to the Central College grounds, where the convention was held. The slogan “I am Gauri” was raised throughout the march.
At the conference, where police said there were at least 3,000 people, a commemorative edition of Gauri Lankesh Patrike — her weekly tabloid — with articles by those close to her was launched. Lankesh’s mother Indira saluted the attendees, saying: “I welcome all the Gauris that have come here.”
Activist Medha Patkar said the event was not a condolence meet. “We are here for a show of unity, strength,” she said. “Only when we have a convention condemning the deaths caused in the name of development, can we have justice,” Patkar said, referring to the impending launch of the Sardar Sarovar dam project.
K Neela, who belongs to All India Democratic Women’s Association, said Lankesh’s was a fight against injustice.
“She fought against caste inequality, persecution of minorities and the downtrodden, and to uphold our Constitution. I want to tell her killers, you can aim your bullets at our forehead, but you can’t kill our ideas”. At the rally, speaker after speaker took aim at the Hindutva ideology, blaming it for an increase in hatred in the country.
“In May 2014 I cried with Gauri — not in desperation, but worrying about the direction in which this country was headed,” said activist Teesta Setalvad.
Writer Devanur Mahadeva said the dreams of Independence were systematically destroyed by governments that promoted capitalism and a culture of hatred. “What do we do when governments are trying to make the past our present?” he asked.
Speaking about a change in the ethos of the country, general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Sitaram Yechury said Lankesh’s murder was not an isolated incident.
“We have lost [Narendra] Dabholkar, [Govind] Pansare, [MM] Kalburgi and now Gauri. We have gau rakshaks who have been on a rampage against Dalits and Muslims. We have the moral police telling us what to eat, wear and who to befriend. This is the beginning of authoritarianism, totalitarianism which is the antithesis of our idea of India.”
Journalist P Sainath said it was heartening to see the turnout. “This will be a stirring chapter in the fightback against the culture of intolerance and hatred.”
There were also several seers at the rally, with the seer of Nidumamidi Mutt, Veerabhadra Chennamalla Swami, saying Gauri was “martyred by the proponents of Hindutva terror”.
A memorandum was issued at the protest, calling on the SIT to expedite the probe into her murder. It also called for those celebrating Lankesh’s death on social media to be booked.