Remembering Gauri: We’ll Fight Back, Say Journalists and Activists
Today marks the first death anniversary of Gauri Lankesh, who was shot dead outside her home on 5 September 2017.
Today marks the first death anniversary of journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh who was shot dead outside her Bengaluru residence on 5 September 2017.
Activists demanded strict measures to ban the radical Hindu group, Sanatan Sanstha, which has alleged links with the assassination of the scribe. Meanwhile, Lankesh’s weekly publication Gauri Lankesh Patrike returned to business on 5 September 2018 with a new name, Nyaya Patha, and a special issue.
Forces Ruling the Country Are Crushing Dissent: Varadarajan
Speaking at the event, Siddharth Vardarajan said that the forces ruling the country were running a project to silence all voices of dissent and that even assassinations (are an option) if need be...and even arrests to crush dissent to create a false fear psychosis.
Girish Karnad Declares Himself an Urban Naxal
Author Girish Karnad attended the event wearing a board saying “Me Too Urban Naxal”.
The Pen Is All That Writers and Thinkers Have, Says Chandrashekhar Patil
Noted Kannada writer Professor Chandrashekhar Patil, also on the hit list of the killers behind Lankesh’s murder, said that the pen was all that writers and thinkers like him had and that they would fight back. Patil also announced that he would restart his column in the paper Nyaya Patha.
Gauri Memorial Trust Releases Pen in Memory of Lankesh
At the event, the Gauri Memorial Trust released a pen with a photograph and signature of Gauri Lankesh.
Veteran journalist Siddharth Varadarajan, Editor, The Wire also released a Kannada weekly tabloid Nyaya Patha, which will be run by Gauri Memorial trust.
Activists, Authors Gather at Event
Among those present at the event in Bengaluru's Jnanabharathi are playwright and actor Girish Karnad, actor Prakash Raj, civil rights activist Swamy Agnivesh, Teesta, Dalit activist Jignesh Mevani as well as student leaders Kanhaiya Kumar and Umar Khalid.
Declare Sanathan Sanstha "Terror Organisation", Demands Swami Agnivesh
On Wednesday, 5 September, a rally led by civil rights activist Swami Agnivesh, on the occasion of the first anniversary of the murder of activist-journalist Gauri Lankesh, demanded that Sanatan Sanstha and its affiliates be declared "terror organisations". A petition was given to the governor to direct the state government and recommend the same.
Murders Can’t Have Happened Without Involvement of State Machinery, Says Mevani
The fact that there is a link between the four murders is “even more shocking but not surprising”, said Gujarat MLA and social activist Jignesh Mevani.
“This is done upon the instructions of someone operating from Delhi or Nagpur. Without the involvement of the state machinery, it can’t happen. I appeal to the SIT to bring out the motive with which Dabholkar ji was killed, Gauri Lankesh, Pansare and everybody was killed. It’s good to know that the SIT is doing its job”, said Mevani, speaking on the developments in the last year since the murder of Gauri Lankesh.
Event to Commemorate Gauri Lankesh's Death Anniversary
Gauri Lankesh Trust is organising a ‘Freedom of Expression convention’ on 5 September in Bengaluru where activists and writers from across the country, like Swami Agnivesh, Kanhaiya Kumar and Umar Khalid, will participate in a sign of “cultural resistance” to the onslaught of attacks on freedom of expression.
Meanwhile, several writers and activists who have been attacked by trolls and are facing death threats, will march to Raj Bhavan in protest.
The ‘Raj Bhavan Chalo’ rally will be led by Swami Agnivesh, who was attacked twice recently. Eight prominent Kannada writers, including Girish Karnad, whose names were on a hit list discovered by the SIT during its probe, are expected to participate. Other participants are Umar Khalid, Anand Teltumbde, whose Goa residence was raided by the Pune police recently, Kanhaiya Kumar, and Teesta Setalvad.
Umar Khalid paid his respects at Gauri Lankesh’s grave on the morning of Wednesday, 5 September.
Gauri Lankesh's Newsroom Returns to Business
A year after Gauri Lankesh’s death, her publication is all set to return to business with a new name, masthead and office. The Kannada weekly, Gauri Lankesh Patrike will now be called Nyaya Patha.
How the 8-Month-Long Conspiracy to Murder Gauri Lankesh Panned Out
The Quint traces how the 8-month-long conspiracy to murder Gauri Lankesh panned out leading to the death of the outspoken journalist. Read here.
How the SIT’s Investigation Unfolded
From just a glimpse of the attacker caught on CCTV camera, to an intercepted call, here is how the SIT cracked the Gauri Lankesh murder case over a period of nine months. Read here.
Forensics Confirm Parashuram Waghmare Behind Gauri Lankesh's Murder
Almost a year after activist-journalist Gauri Lankesh was killed in Bengaluru, an SIT probe, on 4 September, revealed her murder was part of a conspiracy by Hindu extremists to kill rationalists. The team got a major breakthrough with a Gujarat-based forensic lab confirming that Parashuram Waghmare, one of the main accused, was behind her murder.
Gauri Lankesh, known for her progressive and fearless writing, was shot dead at close range by unknown assailants outside her home on 5 September 2017.
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