'I am Gauri': Thousands protest against Indian journalist's murder
Gauri Lankeshs murder sparked outrage as protesters took to streets with placards saying I am Gauri. Photo: AFP
(Web Desk) – A week after the murder of renowned Indian journalist Gauri Lankesh, thousands of protesters took to the streets in Bangalore condemning the brutal killing.
The protesters included writers, journalists and academics.
According to BBC, up to 15,000 protesters marched holding placards saying “I am Gauri” while others chanted poems on freedom of speech.
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Thousands of people gathered in Bengaluru for a protest rally in Gauri Lankesh s name. Photo: NDTV
No arrests have been made so far by the police, who is still looking for those behind her murder.
Lankesh was shot dead on September 5 near her home. She was one of the most high-profile Indian journalist who was murdered in recent years. Her death sparked many protests across the country but the largest protest was seen in her hometown in Bengaluru which witnessed the biggest turnout yet.
Gauri Lankesh was well known for her left-leaning views. Her views were mostly critical on Hindu fundamentalism in politics and were severely against the caste system in India.
Lankesh voiced her support for the Naxalites, or Maoist rebels who have been involved in carrying out insurgencies against the Indian government.
The protest rally was organised by 21 civil society groups, which began at the city’s railway station before the protesters protested on the streets.
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Protesters marched in huge numbers with I am Gauri posters and headbands. Photo: NDTV
Demonstrators sang protest songs and held slogans with the words “Long live Gauri Lankesh”. Many protesters were seen with black headbands that read “I Am Gauri”.
The crowd waved banners calling for justice, while some protesters set up a structure of black umbrellas that were stamped with slogans condemning Lankesh’s murder.
Sitaram Yechury, an Indian politician and leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), was one of many prominent speakers at the rally.
"When I say I am Gauri , it means that we will not allow us to be silenced," he said. "The idea of a socialist and secular India is still alive."
A security guard walks past a placard installed at the Press Club of Kolkata in solidarity with Lankesh. Photo: Reuters
"We will come in front of you, we will not wait for you," said documentarian Rakesh Sharma. "Who all will you target?" he asked.
Veteran freedom fighter HS Doreswamy said that a "new era" should be created, starting now. "If I can fight for change at 99 years old, why can t you fight?"
Other people present at the protest included journalist P Sainath, politician Rajeev Gowda, social activist Medha Patkar and women s rights campaigner Kavita Krishnan.
"Freedom of expression does not hold good any more," Pearl Gabriel, a student who attended the protest said. "If you freely voice your ideas, you may even get killed," she added.
