(29th January, 1962-5th September, 2017)
Gauri Lankesh, a prominent journalist and activist, was known for her uncompromising stance on social justice and against Hindutva ideology. Her career began in the mid-1980s with the Times of India, but her significant impact came after returning to Bangalore in 2000. Taking over from her late father, P. Lankesh, she revitalized the Kannada tabloid Lankesh Patrike, despite personal and professional challenges.
In 2005, a family dispute led to the split of the publication, with Gauri Lankesh founding Gauri Lankesh Patrike. She effectively bridged her English media experience with local issues, gaining recognition for her fearless reporting on caste discrimination and communal politics. Her work included vocal opposition to Hindutva forces and support for dialogue with members of banned left organisations. Her newspaper had a circulation of around 10,000. Her political activism and efforts to bridge different Dalit, Adivasi, left, Muslim, and other groups, made her a popular figure in Karnataka.
Lankesh’s career was marked by controversy, including a 2016 defamation conviction related to a report on BJP MPs Prahlad Joshi and Umesh Dhusi. She was sentenced to six months in jail but appealed and secured bail. Her fearless voice against fundamentalism and her commitment to social justice made her a threat to Hindutva propaganda.
On a Tuesday night in Bangalore’s Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Lankesh was tragically gunned down by saffron terrorists at her doorstep. Her death sparked widespread outrage across the nation. It came as one in a series of assassinations of anti-RSS and rationalist voices like Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare, and MM Kalburgi. Upon investigation, another important discovery made by the SIT was finding a diary in possession of Amol Kale, a Hindutva fanatic and one of the accused belonging to Sri Rama Sene. The diary listed a total of 36 rational and progressive thinkers whom the group wished to eliminate including the late playwright Girish Karnad. Despite the violence that ended her life, Lankesh’s legacy endures through her steadfast fight for justice and her unyielding advocacy for marginalized voices.
