Gauri Lankesh was an Indian activist and journalist from Bangalore, Karnataka.
27 Facts About Gauri Lankesh
2.
Gauri Lankesh worked as an editor in Lankesh Patrike, a Kannada weekly started by her father P Lankesh, and ran her own weekly called Gauri Lankesh Patrike.
3.
Gauri Lankesh was murdered outside her home in Rajarajeshwari Nagar on 5 September 2017.
4.
At the time of her death, Gauri was known for being a critic of right-wing Hindu extremism.
5.
Gauri Lankesh was honoured with Anna Politkovskaya Award for speaking against right-wing Hindu extremism, campaigning for women's rights and opposing caste based discrimination.
6.
Gauri Lankesh was born in a Kannada Lingayat family on 29 January 1962.
7.
Gauri Lankesh's father is the poet-journalist P Lankesh, who established the Kannada-language weekly tabloid Lankesh Patrike.
8.
Gauri Lankesh started her career as a journalist with The Times of India in Bangalore.
9.
Gauri Lankesh filed a counter-complaint, accusing Indrajit of threatening her with a revolver.
10.
Gauri Lankesh held a separate press conference where she denied the accusation and stated that her brother was opposed to her social activism.
11.
Gauri Lankesh endorsed a minority religion tag for the Lingayat community and headed the Komu Souharda Vedike, a communal harmony platform for the oppressed communities.
12.
Gauri Lankesh was of the view that the followers of philosopher Basavanna were not Hindus.
13.
Gauri Lankesh was opposed to the Bharatiya Janata Party and ended her 35-year-old friendship with Prakash Belawadi when the latter became a media advisor to the BJP during the 2014 Indian general election.
14.
Gauri Lankesh then pointed out that the Brahmin novelist S L Bhyrappa had depicted the similar Niyoga practice in his novel Parva, a retelling of the Hindu epic Mahabharata.
15.
Gauri Lankesh clarified that she was supportive of both these writers, and asked why the Hindu groups who were offended by Perumal Murugan were not offended by Bhyrappa.
16.
On 23 January 2008, Gauri Lankesh published an article titled "Darodegilada BJP galu" in her newspaper.
17.
Gauri Lankesh later said that the article was based on "sources within the BJP".
18.
Gauri Lankesh stated that she was being targeted for her left-leaning political views, as the BJP leaders did not sue other local dailies who had published the same allegations.
19.
Gauri Lankesh moved the case to the High Court, seeking dismissal of the case against her.
20.
Gauri Lankesh was released on bail after furnishing a personal bond of 25,000.
21.
On 27 November 2016, the second JMFC court concluded that Gauri Lankesh had failed to provide any substantial evidence for her criticism of the BJP leaders and found her guilty of defamation.
22.
Gauri Lankesh's co-accused, Devanand Jagapur, was acquitted by the same court.
23.
Gauri Lankesh stated that the BJP leaders had managed to cover their tracks by reaching a compromise with the jeweler; she refused to disclose her source for the corruption allegations against them.
24.
Gauri Lankesh described the court verdict as a temporary setback and declared that she would challenge it in the higher court.
25.
On 5 September 2017, Gauri Lankesh died after being shot by three unidentified men at her house in Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Bangalore.
26.
Gauri Lankesh's family did not follow any religious customs for her as she identified as a rationalist.
27.
The New York Times reported that several accounts followed by prime minister Narendra Modi had posted "hateful" tweets in response to Gauri Lankesh's assassination, prompting a debate in India.