Gauri Lankesh, the brave journalist and editor of Kannada Weekly Gauri Lankesh Patrike was murdered by the right wing extremists in Bengaluru on the ill-fated date in 2017.
Gauri consistently wrote against the growing fanaticism under the current Hindu nationalist BJP government. There has been an increase in attacks on religious minorities and political dissidents ever since the BJP came to power with a brute majority in 2014.
It’s been 4 years since we lost Gauri on 5th of September.
Today, friends and family gathered to pay homage at her burial place in Bengaluru and remembered her this day, on the Fourth Anniversary of her Martyrdom. They remembered Gauri, her words and the vacuum left by her absence.
Gauri Lankesh challenged and questioned those in power and raised her voice against state violence through her writings. Her murder was not just a personal loss to her family and friends. Gauri was a loving sister and mother to many young activists who looked up to her for advice and guidance.
Gauri’s legacy is taken forward by Gauri Memorial Trust that takes care of the weekly Gauri was the editor of with a new name of Nyaya Patha. Gauri legacy also continues in the digital form of Kannada website as naanugauri.com and English website as gaurilanekshnews.com.
Gauri Lankesh murder was rejoiced by the supporters of the right wing ecosystem and many of these were followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Since 2017, the situation has only gotten worse with anyone who talks against government and its anti people policies are arrested and put in jail for years without trial.
Friends, associates and activists resolved to take forward her struggles to achieve the ideals that she stood for.
On Friday, August 27, the City of Burnaby proclaimed September 5 as Gauri Lankesh Day. The Mayor Mike Hurley made the announcement describing Gauri Lankesh as a “courageous Indian journalist who stood up for truth and justice” and “laid down her life… in her fight against repression and for human rights”.
Today as the country and its citizens are further in the grip of fascism, we should not just limit us only to remember Gauri as a martyr, but also to carry forward her legacy of collectively fight for rights of people and strengthen the voices of dissent.