Hulikunte Murthy, translated by Prajwal
Two years after I met Gauri Lankesh, my acquaintance with her began. In other words, I had known her since 2006; we became close later. I did not make an effort to understand her personality in the eleven months I worked with her newspaper. Either the need did not arise, or there was no time. However, after I left my job with her, the discussions she had with me, the topics she gave me to write about, and the different thought processes in the region that she grasped, allowed me to understand different aspects of her personality.
Gauri Lankesh as a Journalist:
Before Gauri Madam taking up the responsibility of Lankesh Weekly, I hadn’t paid much attention to the English newspapers Gauri used to work in previously. but I had heard about the luxurious life of Gauri, the daughter of the editor of one of the biggest newspapers in our region. She had mentioned that Chidananda, who was married to her, was from our taluk. Even though it was once in a while, they used to talk about their relationship. ‘Chidu sent a dress, Chidu sent a laptop…’. Until then, I hadn’t seen a couple who shared such a close bond even after getting divorced.
After becoming the editor, people who knew them closely say that their life changed completely. inheritance of Lankesh’s newspaper contributed to this change and Chidananda’s understanding of the newspaper world holding importance is equally acknowledged. Gauri spent much of her time discussing with him. Her perception of the journalist profession changed completely after she became the editor.
About governance related journalism, she relied upon Raveendra Reshme and Somnath. After Reshme met with an accident and was admitted to the hospital, and later when he stopped coming to work and started mingling with Sriramulu(BJP ex-MLA), any doubt on his loyalty got cleared. By this time Gauri had a good grasp of the depths of Karnataka politics so she didn’t include Reshme again in her discussions. She would edit the newspaper by sitting down for the whole week before it went to print every Sunday. She would meticulously read every word of the reports from district correspondents, sometimes even rejecting entire reports. She would work hard to understand the nuances of language and expressions with the help of English and Kannada dictionaries placed nearby. she wouldn’t stop until she could comprehend every single word in the newspaper, make it meaningful, or change it as necessary.
When the JD(S)-BJP coalition government came, she called it a ‘Koja’ (coalition) government. (I coined this term, just for fun, Gell Manju used it for fun too. I brought it to Gauri Lankesh’s attention. She used it. I still feel guilty about it) When Kumaraswamy was to enter Dalit homes in villages for political reasons, she didn’t mince words and criticised his tactics without fear.
She effectively carried forward Lankesh’s legacy of fearless journalism and provided salaries to the newspaper staff without fail at the end of each month. When she started a monthly magazine called “Guide,” it brought in more revenue than Lankesh Patrike. She also continued the work of speaking the truth to students. Gauri Lankesh enjoyed reading the columns written by B. Chandre Gowda and H. L. Keshavamurthy in the office with great enthusiasm. They would often discuss and take pleasure in reading their articles aloud. Gauri Madam’s interest extended to poetry, and she also began talking about cinema from time to time.
Gauri Lankesh understood what the work of journalists like herself meant in a country like India full of discrimination. After Gauri Lankesh Patrike became “Gauri Lankesh Vaarapatrike,” it became more involved in various communal harmony activities in Karnataka. As an active worker in the “Karnataka Koumu Sauhardya Vedike,” she contributed significantly. By expanding the number of pages in her editorial, she gave more space to it. As a result, the Karnataka Koumu Sauhardya Vedike gained more strength, and those fighting against communalism in the state got closer to Gauri.
For Gauri Lankesh, there was no distinction between her work in journalism and her activism. Being the only one in her household in Uttarahalli, she would spend most of her day either at the newspaper office or engaging in protests, demonstrations, or court cases. Initially, she was hesitant to speak on public platforms, but over time, she became a guest of honour at various events in different parts of the state. People like Nagari Babaya, Nagerere Ramesh, Shivasundar, and V.S. Shridhar, who were prominent activist, significantly influenced her. Due to her involvement, she developed a keen interest in the struggles of the Adivasis and Naxalite movement.
Gauri even met Saket Rajan during her journey, which led her to become more vocal in supporting various social movements. This drew criticism and opposition from right-wing extremists. She even faced threats and attacks on her life due to her fierce criticism of communal forces.
Efforts were made to bring Sirimane Nagaraj out of the Naxalite movement. Apart from this, she tried to bring her close female friends into the mainstream media. This association led her to have regular contact with then- Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and high-ranking police officials.
During the “Akhila Bharata Kannada Sahitya Sammelana” held in Shivamogga, Gauri was invited as one of the main speakers on a particular topic. Her presence drew strong opposition from communal forces. However, Gauri’s determination to speak in the district of Shivamogga bore fruit, and progressive thinkers and activists in the region provided unprecedented support. The fierce support of these progressive thinkers and activists marked the beginning of the external defeat of communalism in Karnataka, and Gauri played a significant role in this regard.
After that, Gauri played a prominent role in many Dalit and progressive movements. She was somewhat relieved when the government led by Siddaramaiah came into power and trusted Siddaramaiah. She actively participated in the ‘Chalo Udupi’ and promoted it through her newspaper. Gauri Lankesh demonstrated through her life how alternative and impactful thought processes, diverging from a unidirectional approach, can be effective for the reformation of a stratified society like India. In the last twelve years of her existence, Gauri Lankesh did not have a private life. She faced more than 60 court cases and fought them without giving up, considering it as part of the struggle. She delved deeper into society and culture by reading more and more, slowly immersing herself in the indigenous intellectual richness of Kannada. Her life as a guiding example infused more vigour into the next generation, preserving the vitality of Kannada’s native intellectualism.
Gauri Lankesh’s philosophical understanding:
Gauri Lankesh, having observed communalism up close, embarked on a spirited struggle to combat it, which is why her immediate response to the Dalit women’s protest in Karnataka wasn’t surprising. Gauri Lankesh, through her newspaper, responded promptly to contemporary disturbances, and this often put her in a bit of a rush. She was still in the process of understanding the potential risks of relying on Congress to curb communalism.
Gauri did not consider the importance of Dalit and women’s movements which opposed every exploitative tendencies of the government, distancing herself from those or perhaps didn’t have time to understand the sensitivity of the topic.
She initially discussed issues related to the Dalit movement with indifference, much like English journalists, but later she became passionate about the topic of reservation for the backward classes. In this context, she displayed a genuine concern for the empowerment of Dalits and believed it was essential to comprehend the subtleties of the matter.
Her participation in proactive struggle model in the Dalit movement and women movement led her to reconsider her thoughts. Gauri Lankesh, had embraced Ambedkar’s ideas but she still had to comprehend the world quickly through Ambedkar’s thought process. Although Gandhi and Lohia’s ideas were not as appealing to her, she accepted them due to the inevitable influence of progressive thinkers surrounding them. In this regard, she still had to become more resolute.
She had now entered the literary thought process that moulded the progressiveness in Kannada. Though she didn’t fully understand the oral traditions of Vachana literature and the community’s folk epics, she sensed them as seeds of people-oriented thoughts. A month before getting murdered she once asked, ‘Who is he?’ about a prominent senior Dalit leader, and when she spoke with him, it seemed as though they had known each other for thirty to forty years. Many subjects, individuals, and thought processes were yet to come close to her. Cinema language didn’t make much sense to her; she enjoyed responsive poetry. She took everyone’s words seriously and sometimes got prejudiced. She quickly deciphered any suspicions about the people around them.
Gauri Lankesh was a part of all the public movements happening across the country for the construction of a just society. However, she exhibited a bit of reluctance when it came to perceiving the ancient philosophical rigidity and introspective contemplation. The danger posed by the growth of communalism, the aggressive dance of hatred, the attack on fellow human beings, and the belief in humanity fueled her ideological drive for activism. The belief she held acted as a weapon that reduced her fear. Even before taking action, Gauri’s death has already galvanised the Indian public. Gauri lives on; she have revived us.
(Translated and republished with permission from the author)
