Gauri Lankesh murder: Activists, mediapersons register strong protest across Kerala
The protest march was jointly organised by Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) and Trivandrum Press Club.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: “I too am Gauri. Shoot me too,” read a placard stuck to the wall at Manaveeyam Veedhi in the evening as people from different walks of life joined the protest against the brutal killing of veteran journliast Gauri Lankesh.
A cross section of activists and mediapersons assembled to register their strong protest at the meet led by Network of Women in Media India (NWMI). “Media will never forgive whoever committed the murder,” said NWMI’s Geetha Nazeer.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah may have said that there was no proof connecting it with Kalburgi murder, but at the protest the placards bore the names of Dabholkar, Pansare and Kalburgi who were killed in similar fashion and Akhlaq who was lynched by a mob in the name of possessing beef.
“There are those who say that we don’t know who killed Gauri Lankesh. But we know who all are celebrating the murder,” said senior journalist C. Gouridasan Nair.
It is a state of emergency; an unannounced, silent one, according to CDS faculty J. Devika. She spoke about individuals with right-leaning ideologies in Kerala who maintain that theirs is a neutral stance.
She said that the Hindutva fundamentalists should read Poonthanam and understand that death comes to everyone. “But the death of some increases their strength,” she said. Earlier, journalists from print and visual media took out a march from Kesari Memorial Trust to Trivandrum Press Club via secretariat. The protest march was jointly organised by Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) and Trivandrum Press Club.
The speakers at the protest condemned the brutal murder of Lankesh and there was a pattern of silencing dissent.
A cross section of people and organisations held a series of protests in Kochi on Wednesday against the murder of Lankesh.
“This is a moment to be vigilant against the fascist politics gripping the country,” former LDF lawmaker Sebastian Paul said inaugurating a protest meeting at Ernakulam Press Club.
The journalists took out a demonstration from Press Club to Menaka Jn. A group of artists painted in protest at the Durbar Hall Ground while some social activists led a procession from High Court Junction to the Gandhi Statue junction at Rajendra Maidan.
