By Cynthia Stephen
The shooting of GauriLankesh has set off reverberations all over the country, even the world. There has been widespread condemnation of thedeteriorating climate for dissent, the increasing use of violence to settle political questions, the lack of political will to protect dissenting voices which keep democracy vibrant and alive, the vulnerability of journalists who play a crucial role in maintaining the flow of information and critical thought in a society in today’sIndia. The fact that a woman and a journalist was killed on her doorstep in the city of Bangalore heightens a sense of uncertainty and insecurity.
Gauri was keenly aware of the threat to her life but in the best tradition of dissent felt her detractors had the right to criticize her views. She was a strong anti-establishment voice which took on unpopular causes. Her killing has been seen as closely linked to the yet unsolved murders of the rationalist thinkers Dabholkar (2013), and Pansare and Kalburgi (2015). She spoke up for victims of communal violence, caste violence, against corruption in high places, and was a trenchant critic of the right wing. She was also a strong votary of writing history from the point of view of the common people. The article she wrote on Mahishasura entitled Reclaiming Mahishasurafor the Bangalore Mirror turned out to be her last – they stopped her column after she wrote the piece, she told a friend. It spoke of Mahisasura being a locally revered Dravidian ruler.
In her last article for The Wire, GauriLankesh, editor of the Kannada tabloid GauriLankeshPatrike, gave a succinct historical account of the differences between the Lingayat religion founded by the 12 C philosopher Basava and the Veerashaiva faith. The article traces the history of the debate from its inception over a century ago down to the present, and was written in the context of a contemporary debate in the state of Karnataka on the subject. It is remarkable for its dispassionate tone and marshalling of facts on the subject, in which she says, “The essential difference between the Lingayata dharma and the Veerashaiva is that the latter accepts the Vedic texts and practices like caste and gender discrimination, while Basavanna not only protested these, he offered an alternative that is an anti-thesis of sanatana dharma. This debate assumes a larger significance these days, when Hinduism is being equated exclusively with sanatana dharma, in contradiction to the origin of the word `Hindu’, which included Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs. Shaivites, like Vaishnavites, are a part of the Hindu system of faith. And therein lies the difference.”
The issue whichhas roiled the state in recent weeks,is closely linked to its the political future, which has always had a strong thread of socialism and egalitarianism, and one in which intellectuals always had a strong voice in the policies and power equations in the government. Basava and his sharanas, includingAkkamahadevi (to whom KanchaIlaiah Shepherd has compared her) and towering intellectuals like UR Anantamurthy; the state poet Kuvempu, who fostered the Humanist standpoint in all his works and his sonPoornachandraTejaswi, the well-known essayist and writer were very influential in the politics and policy making of the state in their time and their thoughts and ideas continue to have resonance in the state.
Gauri, and her father before her, were remarkable in that they imbibed, practiced, and transmitted these values, of egalitarianism, democracy, pluralism, secularism, in the language of the masses using a mass medium that was accessible and popular. They took uncompromising positions and spoke truth to power in a manner rarely seen anywhere.
Take the extraordinary fact that they both ran papers though not without difficulty, on subscriptions and without selling any advertising. This is because of the nature of its readers. The state is home to a unique an egalitarian intellectual tradition going back to the time of Basava, who initiated the anti-caste Lingayat religious tradition, and dozens of people’s poets and bards whose poems are on the lips of every Kannadiga and whose thoughts shape their ethos and politics.
GauriLankesh’s clear stance in favour of the liberal values of the Constitution and the secular position of Basava’s philosophy can be seen in her statement : “… my criticism of Hindutva politics and the caste system, which is part and parcel of what is considered ‘Hindu dharma’, makes my critics brand me a ‘Hindu hater’. But I consider it my constitutional duty to continue — in my own little way — the struggle of Basavanna and Dr. Ambedkar towards establishing an egalitarian society.”
Thus Gauri’s professional and political trajectory can be understood in two strands – one going back to the intellectual and philosophical tradition and history of the state of Karnataka, and the second one in which figures her father, P Lankesh (1935-2000), a strong socialist, Lohiaite and secular intellectual.However, she was more left-leaning than him, though she also firmly believed in non-violence and in debate and discussion to settle political differences. The important point to note that their politics, while progressive, liberal an left-oriente, belonge not to the Left movement as seen in Kerala or West Bengal but was more roote in the local ethos of political philosophy and rationality which is a strong part of the state’s intellectual tradition. Lankeshundertook a state-wide tour in the late seventies, accompanied by his student, Ramdass, andTejaswi, his friend and another formidable intellectual of the timeto promote the newly formed Karnataka KrantiRanga, a political party with socialist ideals.
His exposure to the condition of the poor, the Dalits, and Muslims made him realise his responsibility towards them and hedecided to start a paper which would write on these issues in an accessible manner. He gave up teaching as an English lecturer to start his weekly tabloid paper LankeshPatrike, in 1980, that sold no advertising.At a time when there was no independent TV or radio, print journalism was the only independent mass media. His talent for political satire and humour and fearless an honest professionalism quickly gained his publication a huge popularity.
The paper also was a platform for many young voices emerging at the time, such as Siddalingaiah, a noted poet and author, D R Nagaraj, author and essayist and Ramdass, who became a professor and a leader of the rationalist and progressive group in Mysore. All these people went on to become important voices and havemade a very strong impact on the intellectual and political life of the state. His paper became one of the most important political spaces for debate and discussion in the already rich cultural and political context in Karnataka. The paper took on a number of people’s causes, like communalism, corruption, and the issues of Dalits and Muslims, at a time when the mainstream media hardly carried these. When he passed away in 2000, the mantle of LankeshPatrike’s editorship fell on her.
In his moving tribute to her, her life-long friend and former husband, journalist ChidanandRajghattarecalled their college days, at the time when the famed Dr. H Narasimhaiah was teaching at National College and promoting the values of rationalism, anti-superstition and scientific enquiry in an entire generation of students of the state.
In 2005, impelled by circumstances which are well known, she started her own eponymous weeklyGauriLankeshPatrike, running it successfully ever since, using the same policy of no advertising. It played a decisive role in which she charted for herself a role as a maturepublic intellectual and role model for the young, anda talented and intrepid professional. This was possible due to her credibility and readership support.It would be safe to say that her strategy to keep her publication financially and editorially independent is without parallel at least in India, and certainly in Karnataka’s vibrant media world – she used to publish other popular materials, some of them translations of important works, to offset the costs of keeping her weekly on the stands.Gauri has been rightly celebrated as a feisty, committed, and fiercely independent voice in the field, one of the very few women editors in Kannada journalism.
Her stand on the freedom of the press was uncompromising. Writing in The Wire in June on a case where the editors of two small newspapers were hauled by the Speaker of the Assembly on the charge of violating the privilege of the house, for publishing reports which showed two legislators in poor light, Gauri wrote: “Yet, what is important is that legislators have no business to sit in judgements on journalists. It is high time they are stripped of their special privileges. If they feel they have been defamed, let them, like other ordinary citizens, take recourse to legal remedy under various sections of the CRPC. Constitutionally, that would be the right thing to do, instead of sentencing their critics under an archaic law.”
She will be especially remembered for her principled stand on communal issues. She started the KomuSouhardaVedike(Communal Harmony Forum) to counter attempts by the SanghParivar to take over a Sufi shrine near Chickmagalur which epitomized the syncretistic tradition of the people. She motivated and led the team which successfully fought a legal battle to retain the shrine as a Sufi place of worship and prevent it from becoming a Hindu shrine as the Sangh intended. Needless to say this also brought her powerful enemies.
Most saw a close connect between the manner of her assassination and those of well-known rationalist and secular thinkersDabolkar, Pansare and Prof. M M Kalburgi. She a been in contact with all of them and had carried many articles on their work in her paper. Prof. Kalburgi especiallywas an authority onSharanaSahitya, the literature of the 12th C anti caste and socio-cultural Lingayat movement popular in Karnataka and parts of Maharashtra. Prof. Kalburgi’s research had laid the foundation for the long-standingdemand within the community to ask for the status of an independent religion.
Recently a large section of the Lingayats religious Math leaders to revive this demand and given the fact that Gauri had written in itssupport, many say this could also be a factor in her killing.
This is owing to the fact that BJP’s main voter base is among the Lingayats. The party is not in favour of the Lingayat demand since it is anti-caste and does not accept the authority of brahminicalreligious texts. If the demand escalates, it could have implications for the outcome of the state elections as Karnataka goes to the polls in a few months.
Gauri’slegacy reaches back into the past and forward into the future as protests against her killing snowball across the country with the slogan I am Gauri. She has been – an will live on – as a role model for the younger generation of political activists – she called Kanhaiya, JigneshMewani and Shehla Rashid her children. To many, including the hundreds of young people in the Dalit and progressive movements in the state, she is an epitome of democratic values, Secularism, professionalism and fearlessness in the face of the most severe provocation and opposition.
The seven bullets fired by her assassins may have taken her away from this world, but may have triggered a groundswell of popular resistance across the country. Will the swell end enough to bring lasting change? Only time will tell.