Hours ahead of her brutal murder at her home Tuesday night, Gauri Lankesh, noted journalist and a vocal critic of Hindutva, had shared a video on her Facebook page. The video, originally posted by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, MP, featured a group of Christian nuns performing Thiruvathira, a dance form traditionally attached to Hindu rituals, as part of their Onam celebrations.
“KERALITES celebrating Onam. religious differences be damned!!!!! this is the reason why they call their 'country' (i call it country, did you notice cheddis??) as 'Gods own country'. please, my mallu friends, please keep up your spirit of secularism,” she wrote while sharing the video.
The post, in a sense, sums up Gauri Lankesh, the person, the journalist, and the activist. She was a hardcore secular and hence a vociferous critic of the Hindutva forces. And it's quiet natural that her murder sparked nationwide protests and condemnation even as the Karnataka government formed a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the heinous crime.
Journalists, intelligentsia, political leaders and civic groups took to the streets demanding the speedy arrests of the culprits while a number of celebrities also took to social media to express their shock and grief.
Journalists, activists, writers, thinkers and women organizations were seen among the crowds that gathered in Bengaluru, Gauri's home city, and across Karnataka condemning the killing.
People were seen gathered at the Town Hall in Bengaluru for a silent protest, holding placards. "You can kill a person but not their ideas," read one placard.
A silent demonstration was staged by journalist groups at the Victoria Hospital grounds, where the autopsy was done. Across the state, protests were witnessed in Mangaluru, Kalaburagi, Dharwad, Koppal among other regions.
Several journalist groups, including the Editors' Guild, Press Club of India and Press Association, organized protests across India, calling the murder a 'brutal assault on the freedom of the press.'
"Her killing is an ominous portent for dissent in democracy and a brutal assault on freedom of press," the Editors Guild of India said in a statement.
"Journalism is nothing without courage. Democracy is nothing without dissent. Lankesh had plenty of both," said veteran journalist Shekhar Gupta.
Sonia, Rahul attack Hindutva
Congress president Sonia Gandhi condemned the killing of Gauri and said it was a chilling reminder that 'intolerance and bigotry is raising its ugly head in our society.' Her son and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi alleged that 'right-wing and fanatic forces' were behind the attack.
"I strongly condemn her killing. The right-wing fascist forces have become so aggressive that they are taking law into their hands. This attack is part of their sinister design," CPI national secretary D. Raja said.
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the incident had taken place at a time when progressive secular thoughts were getting strengthened in Karnataka and added that Gauri was killed in a manner similar to that of M.M. Kalburgi.
The BJP was quick to rubbish the allegations and asked the Karnataka government to swiftly probe the murder and arrest the guilty.
Union minister Ananth Kumar targeted chief minister Siddaramaiah for what he said was the poor law and order situation in the Congress-ruled state. Union ministers Smriti Irani and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore also condemned the murder and sought speedy arrest of the culprits.
Bollywood celebrities such as Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, and Nandita Das, took to Twitter to express grief.
(With inputs from agencies)
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