Senior journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead on Tuesday after unidentified assailants opened fire outside her residence in Bangalore. Known for her fearless and outspoken attitude, Lankesh was the editor of ‘ Gauri Lankesh Patrike’ a weekly Kannada tabloid, besides owning some other publications.
The tabloid did not take any advertisements and is run by a group of 50 people. In her works, she had often voiced her opinions against the communal politics as well as the caste system. She was also a staunch critic of right-wing and Hindutva politics as was evident from her works published in different media outlets. Lankesh was the daughter of famous poet-turned-journalist P Lankesh, who began Lankesh Patrike.
In November 2016, Lankesh was convicted of criminal defamation for an article that she had published in 2008. BJP MP Prahlad Joshi and Umesh Dhusi had raised objections against the piece, which resulted in a six-month sentence and fine for Gauri Lankesh. She had received bail on the same day. Read | Gauri Lankesh journalist who spoke her mind shot dead in Bengaluru
Lankesh who had been a strong advocate of freedom of press, in an interaction with The Wire had said that ‘she was concerned about the state of freedom of expression in the country’. She had also raised apprehensions about how people are targeted because of their ideology.
In her social media posts, she had recently flagged the issue of fake news and propaganda. Taking to Twitter, she had said, “Why do i feel that some of ‘us’ are fighting between ourselves? we all know our “biggest enemy”. can we all please concentrate on that? Ok some of us commit mistakes like sharing fake posts. let us warn each other then. and not try to expose each other. peace… comrades.”
why do i feel that some of `us’ are fighting between ourselves? we all know our “biggest enemy”. can we all please concentrate on that?
— Gauri Lankesh (@gaurilankesh) September 4, 2017
Ok some of us commit mistakes like sharing fake posts. let us warn each other then. and not try to expose each other. peace… comrades
— Gauri Lankesh (@gaurilankesh) September 4, 2017
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Also read | Gauri Lankesh’s last day: Rohingya tragedy, gay rights, Gorakhpur deaths
