Opinion In cold blood

Late Tuesday night, unidentified assailants fired at Gauri Lankesh outside her home in an up-scale residential suburb of Bengaluru.

What is known so far about the murder of Gauri Lankesh is this: Late Tuesday night, unidentified assailants fired at Lankesh outside her home in an up-scale residential suburb of Bengaluru; her neighbours claim they heard the shots but thought they were crackers; one of them discovered her body on the doorway to her residence and called the police. Karnataka Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy has pointed out that it is premature to hold anyone responsible for the murder and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has announced a special investigation. It is important that the police conduct a time-bound probe, so that the facts about the murder can be unearthed, and all the questions answered: Who killed Lankesh, and who ordered the killing? What was their motive? Speculation and conjecture will not do justice to the legacy of Lankesh, who was a widely respected journalist with a formidable body of work. The onus is on the Congress government in Karnataka to ensure that her killers do not go unpunished.

Through her publication, Gauri Lankesh Patrike, Lankesh identified with marginal groups, gave space to heretic voices and opposed bigotry of all sorts. She was critical of the Hindu right-wing forces. The murder happened under the watch of a Congress chief minister in a state that is bound for polls in a few months. Among other things, Siddaramaiah will be judged on his record of maintaining law and order, and his government’s commitment to due process. Not surprisingly, parallels have been drawn with the murder in the same state in 2015 of M.M. Kalburgi, a scholar and academic, who too was outspoken in his criticism of radical Hindutva groups. Two years have passed since his murder, but no arrests have been made so far. Links have also been drawn between Kalburgi’s murder and the killings of two other rationalists, Govind Pansare and Narendra Dabholkar, in Maharashtra — agencies have suggested that the same organisation may be behind the killings. In the absence of convictions, conspiracy theories have flourished, spawning a climate of fear and suspicion.

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What should also be seen as troubling is the venom and hate spewed on social media against the murdered journalist. The lack of civility, and the sheer bigotry on display, reflects a larger breakdown. It draws energy and inspiration from a brand of politics that sees hate and violence as a legitimate counter to argument and dissent. Politicians across parties, many of whom are active on social media, must recognise this grave danger to a free and democratic discourse.