The assassination of Ms. Gauri Lankesh, noted Kannada journalist, writer, activist and champion of secularism and communal harmony has come as a rude shock. Ms. Gauri Lankesh was killed on the night of 5th September, 2017, right in front of her residence in Bangalore. She was Editor of the popular Kannada weekly, Gauri Lankesh Patrike.
This brutal murder of an outspoken journalist is a dastardly attack seeking to muzzle free speech and freedom of the press. Ms. Gauri Lankesh was a bitter critic of the Hindutva brand of politics, and an uncompromising crusader against intolerance, communalism gender and caste injustice. She had also earned the wrath of many so-called godmen and spiritual institutions for exposing sexual abuses in the name of “spiritual salvation.”