Gauri Lankesh



Gauri Lankesh was an Indian journalist and social activist from Bangalore, Karnataka, who is best known for her strong stand against right-wing Hindutva politics. She started her career as a correspondent at various news outlets, and later followed in her father P. Lankesh’s footsteps to publish the Kannada language tabloid ‘Lankesh Patrike’, advocating equal rights for many oppressed groups, despite pressures from different sectors of the society. She vehemently criticized the caste system and the treatment of women within Hindu religion. She maintained that Hinduism, instead of being a religion, was a "system of hierarchy in society" which treated women as “second-class creatures”. She was accused of being a Naxalite sympathizer, even though she rejected it stating that her interviews of Naxal leaders were unbiased. She was named as a member of a committee formed by the Congress-led Karnataka government to convince Naxalites to give up violence and surrender. A brave journalist, who was feared by political and religious groups for her ideologies, was gruesomely murdered in front of her house in September 2017.
Gauri Lankesh was known for her staunch criticism of the right-wing Hindutva politics. She strongly voiced her opinion against communalism and polarization after the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992.
When in 2003 the Sangh Parivar carried out a motivated campaign to Hinduise the Sufi shrine Guru Dattatreya Baba Budan Dargah located at Baba Budan giri, she was among those who opposed the attempt.
She had criticized many political leaders irrespective of their alignment. These include Congress leader, D. K. Shivakumar, and her own longtime friend Prakash Belawadi who became BJP media advisor, to uphold the freedom of the press.
She was the head of Komu Souharda Vedike, a communal harmony forum for the oppressed communities. She was a supporter of the idea that Lingayatism should be treated as a minority religion separate from Hinduism. She was against the caste system, and attempted to expose the double standards of Hindu groups on their treatment of high and low-caste authors.
Gauri Lankesh was murdered by goons on September 5, 2017 in the evening in front of her house as she returned home from office. Police reported that two of the goons followed her from office, while a third was waiting near her home, and shot at her seven times as she reached home, three of which pierced her body.
The public was allowed to pay tribute to her at Ravindra Kalakshetra, following which she was given a state funeral with a gun salute on September 6. Her body was buried following Lingayat customs, but her family did not follow any religious customs to honor her rationalist views.




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