The murder of journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh is yet another tremor that has shaken the pillars of democracy in India. Two years ago, the scholarly rationalist M M Kalburgi was killed under similar circumstances. Referring to that murder, Gauri Lankesh later said that “we are living in such times when Modi Bhakts and the Hindutva brigade welcome the killings and celebrate the deaths (as in the case of U.R. Ananthamurthy) of those who oppose their ideology”. Today the social media is replete with celebrations of Lankesh’s murder. Anyone who goes through the gloating comments will understand who killed the journalist and why.
Gauri Lankesh dreamt of an egalitarian society in India. That was her crime. The right wing in the country has always been opposed to anyone who questioned what it projected as the nation’s ancient culture and tradition. People like Gauri Lankesh decoded what passed off as “culture and tradition” and questioned its very foundations. She was a serious threat to the right wing.
By eliminating people like Gauri Lankesh, the message that is conveyed in unequivocal terms is: Don’t dare to question the authority. A monolithic authority founded ostensibly on an equally monolithic national culture is what is emerging as the By eliminating people like Gauri Lankesh, the message that is conveyed in unequivocal terms is: Don’t dare to question the authority. A monolithic authority founded ostensibly on an equally monolithic national culture is what is emerging as the most serious threat to India’s pluralist democracy. This brutal authority has blatantly displayed its fangs in various shapes and forms many times. Those who dared to question it have been subjected to various kinds of assaults like raids in their offices and homes, humiliating trolls in social networks, and even dastardly murders.
Gauri Lankesh was openly opposed to what the right wing stood for. She was opposed to the caste system, the oppression of the Dalits and other poor sections of the society, the creation of a false notion of a homogeneous national culture, and so on. So the right wing called her a “Hindu hater.”
Thousands of people have come out in protest against the murder of this activist-journalist. The protests are a healthy sign that the whole of the country has not been caught in the tentacles of bigotry and hatred. The gentle lights of reason and dissent have not been doused yet. Let the lights burn brighter dispelling the darkness of bigotry and hatred.
Written by blogger and author Tomichan Matheikal.
Gauri Lankesh dreamt of an egalitarian society in India. That was her crime. The right wing in the country has always been opposed to anyone who questioned what it projected as the nation’s ancient culture and tradition. People like Gauri Lankesh decoded what passed off as “culture and tradition” and questioned its very foundations. She was a serious threat to the right wing.
By eliminating people like Gauri Lankesh, the message that is conveyed in unequivocal terms is: Don’t dare to question the authority. A monolithic authority founded ostensibly on an equally monolithic national culture is what is emerging as the By eliminating people like Gauri Lankesh, the message that is conveyed in unequivocal terms is: Don’t dare to question the authority. A monolithic authority founded ostensibly on an equally monolithic national culture is what is emerging as the most serious threat to India’s pluralist democracy. This brutal authority has blatantly displayed its fangs in various shapes and forms many times. Those who dared to question it have been subjected to various kinds of assaults like raids in their offices and homes, humiliating trolls in social networks, and even dastardly murders.
Gauri Lankesh was openly opposed to what the right wing stood for. She was opposed to the caste system, the oppression of the Dalits and other poor sections of the society, the creation of a false notion of a homogeneous national culture, and so on. So the right wing called her a “Hindu hater.”
Thousands of people have come out in protest against the murder of this activist-journalist. The protests are a healthy sign that the whole of the country has not been caught in the tentacles of bigotry and hatred. The gentle lights of reason and dissent have not been doused yet. Let the lights burn brighter dispelling the darkness of bigotry and hatred.
Written by blogger and author Tomichan Matheikal.
1 Comments
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