‘Tough as Nails’: Beyond the Bullets, Who Was Gauri Lankesh?

Video Editor: Sandeep Suman

On 5 September 2017, journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead outside her home in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It was a murder which shocked and angered the country, sparking a nationwide debate on press freedom and a potential threat to outspoken critics of Hindutva in India. A year later, journalist Chidanand Rajghatta, Lankesh’s ex-husband and good friend, has written a book ‘Illiberal India’, based on her life and the rise of intolerance in India from the 1980s. In an interview with The Quint, Rajghatta talks about his memories of Lankesh, why he felt compelled to write ‘Illiberal India’ and his opinion on intolerance in the country.