Gory murder – An attempt to silence the voice of dissent

Gauri Lankesh was known for outspokenness and raising voice against the Hindutva brand of politics. She was mercilessly murdered only because she gave voice to a cause. She always spoke her mind fearlessly. She was one of the famous voices against the Hindutva thought and action. She had also been slapped defamation case by a BJP member in which she was jailed for six months, though she got bail immediately. Gauri Lankesh was known among the journalist brethren and civil society as a fearless voice against religious fanaticism, superstition, obscurantism, and parochialism. This is not the first time that the anti-establishment voice has been crushed this way. She was shot dead outside the gate of her residence in Bengaluru's Rajrajeshwari Nagar allegedly by three unknown gunmen. It also reflects very poorly on the law and order of Siddharamaihya govt. of Congress in Karanataka. Fragile and feeble law and order of Karnataka has also come to the fore in Lankesh’s killing. Bengaluru is not an ordinary town but the state capital and IT hub of the nation. It was only around 8 in the evening when she was shot dead at her residence in the city. It is not the first time that the sane and rational voice has been crushed in this manner brutally in the country. Not very long ago only a few years or so, MM Kalmurgi, Govind Pansare and Narendra Dhabholkar were killed only because they were against superstitions, opposed BJP govt. in the country and talked of rationality. Their fault was only that they criticized govt.'s functioning openly. They were progressive and development-oriented. That is why they were allegedly killed by Hindutva elements. In democracy, freedom of the press is indispensable. Otherwise, fascist forces would pose a great threat to it. Gauri Lankesh edited her Tabloid Gauri Lankesh Patrike. She expressed her views through it fearlessly against the Hindutva forces. Every citizen of the country has the right to express his or her voice without any fear. The murder of Gauri Lankesh is not the murder of an individual but an attack on the freedom of the press. Though there has been a wide condemnation of the cold blooded murder of Lankesh, the need of the hour is to raise voice against this dastardly killing unitedly. The journalists, civil society members, social activists and common people must come under the single banner to oppose with all might at their disposal the attack on freedom of expression so that justice could be done. The culprits of Lankesh murder must be awarded deterrent punishment. It would be better if the case of Lankesh murder is immediately handed-over to CBI to look into it to take it to a logical conclusion. The culprits must be arrested by the Karnataka police immediately so that the people would come to know about them. The murder of this type is a very bad omen for democracy. The culprit of Lankesh murder must be brought to book as early as possible by the Karnataka police The murder of Kalburgi remains unsolved to date. The biggest finding in the Kalburgi murder case, being investigated by the Criminal Investigation Department of the Karnataka police, so far is the fact that the 7.65 mm pistol used for the killing of the rationalist is the same gun that was used to murder 81-year-old Maharashtra rationalist and leftist thinker Govind Pansare in Kohlapur on February 16, 2015, by two unidentified men. Lankesh murder must not meet the same fate. So, all newsmen, publications, civil society members, social activists and media (print and Electronic) of the country must come under an umbrella to build pressure on Govt. at the Centre to act against Lankesh's killers as early as possible. IT is good that ministry of home affairs has sought the detailed report on Gauri Lankesh murder. But the most urgent need is to take stringent action against the culprits.