Virendra Ichalkaranjikar is the counsel representing the issue of ‘custodial torture’ by Karnataka Police over the suspects arrested in Gauri Lankesh murder case. Here, his critical attempt is to bring you more about Gauri Lankesh – all the aspects covering reasons and unreasons in his series of the articles. Here, is the first instalment –
Gauri Lankesh has become today’s Gandhi
Gauri Lankesh was killed on September 5, 2017. Killing a person is not justifiable and is, of course, a crime. No one should justify the act of murder. Worth noting at the same time is the fact that the death of Gauri Lankesh created a selective furor and deliberately the fire is kept burning, media is being fed continuously with a specific material. This is not something new and may continue even in the future.
For the commoners, a picture is being created that only four murders took place in the country since independence. And, they are not isolated or individual cases but an interconnected series coming down after generations.
The propaganda machinery wants the world to believe that the murder series started from Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in 1948 and from 1948 till 2013, there was a long period of peace, and if not peace then right-wingers were not able to do anything. Then the right wingers somehow got courage, and the next murder in the series took place where Nathuram Godse lived, in Pune. It was Dr. Narendra Dabholkar, August 2013, and then it was Pansare in February 2015, Kalburgi in August 2015 and lastly in September 2017, Gauri Lankesh. The very reason of unrest, disturbance, suppression of free voice is these murders and Hindu activists are fierce and a hell of a lot more dangerous than ISIS terrorists, who might be taking lectures from Hindu terrorists including Narendra Modi about how to terrorize people.
This is yet another kind of superstition. Unfortunately, no supporter of Dabholkar will dare to recognize it. No communist- rationalist will accept that some other murders also happened for ideological reasons, and the slain persons in other cases like as Lankesh’s case were fighting constitutionally for Hindu rights or beliefs. The refusal to accept this comes out from the age-old strategy of the left-liberal/communist intelligentsia – Use everything as a means of war and try to single out the oppositionist and defeat him in every possible way.
How much Gauri Lankesh was known outside Karnataka?
Gauri Lankesh was not quite popular outside Bangalore or for that reason outside Karnataka. Now she is being referred to as the epitome of peace, the most significant journalist this country ever produced. She is being portrayed as another incarnation of Gandhi who would have forgiven Nathuram Godse; similarly, Gauri would have invited Parashuram Waghmare (who allegedly shot her as per the present version, the beta version of Police) over a cup of Coffee and discuss his anger. She was a very forgiving person. (Kavitha Lankesh said this in one of her interviews.)
One can understand Kavitha Lankesh has lost her sister and is in deep pain. But with the expression of pain what comes out is a left-liberals’ way of hijacking the narratives emotionally, to give a different color and perspective to history and the person. This is a danger zone. It becomes ridiculous and equally dangerous to buy such kind of story from Kavitha Lankesh.
One more thing is now being told about Gauri Lankesh by her sister is that she was not anti-Hindu, she was against Hindutva. What does it mean? Does it suggest that you can retain your Hindu name, identity, and religion merely to fill in some forms and leave rest all the virtue of being the Hindu to criticize?
Gauri Lankesh was very forgiving?
When Kavitha Lankesh says, Gauri was a very forgiving person in an interview given to Deccan Chronicle published on June 21, 2018, a specific note on Wikipedia page on Gauri Lankesh points out to a disturbing fact, which entirely contradicts Kavitha Lankesh’s stand.
She was targeting the Bhartiya Janta Party and even ended her three-decade-old friendship with Prakash Belawadi just because he joined the party as their media advisor during Lok Sabha elections in 2014. A report published in Bangalore Mirror indicates how she targeted every BJP, Modi supporter and claimed they were under the influence of Brahmanism. So this is it, in case you are in any other party/ideology, the paradox of Brahmanism does not come out; it comes only when one is with the BJP.
Be that as it may, as said earlier, this is not an effort to support the murder or violence but to analyze as to how an ordinary mortal human being, who was opposing only one ideology, was headstrong and who had criminal cases against her is being glamorized, casted as today’s Gandhi. Most of her literature is in Kannada, limiting the readers from other states to read it which lures them to fall in line to pay tributes without knowing what she had been writing and what had been the implications of the writing.
Gauri Lankesh’s background: Conviction in various matters
Work was not fact-based and did not survive the scrutiny in the court.
“Article against BJP MP Pralhad Joshi”
In 2008 Gauri wrote an article against Pralhad Joshi, BJP MP and others. She made allegations which are also cited on the Wikipedia page about her.
On 23 January 2008, Gauri Lankesh published an article titled “Darodegilada BJP Galu” in her tabloid – Lankesh Patrike. The article criticized the BJP leader Pralhad Joshi, and his colleagues Umesh Dushi, Shivanand Bhat, as well as Venkatesh Mestry. The article suggests that the three BJP workers had cheated a jeweler of ₹ one lakhs. It also stated that the jeweler sought justice from Member of Parliament Joshi and threatened to approach the police. Gauri also claimed that the article was based on “sources within the BJP.” Contrary to the expectations of Gauri and likes, Pralhad Joshi resorted not to some hooliganism, but followed constitutional means and filed a criminal case of defamation under the Indian Penal Code against her. She did not respond to a repeated summons by the Court to remain present before the Court and had to be arrested and brought before the Court by the Police. This is the respect that she had towards the constitution of India and the Courts operating thereunder.
Gauri could not and in fact, did not even try to prove that what she had written was the truth. She could state before the Court only one thing that the said publication did not defame Pralhad Joshi, and he got re-elected in the elections.
Does her stand in the court mean she knew that what she wrote did not hold water? Was it just a systematic campaign to malign a person from BJP, Sangh ideology? Why didn’t her advocate justify the points mentioned in the article, why did they accept the defeat?
Anyway, she was undoubtedly a convicted person in terms of the law, and her appeal in the Sessions Court was pending which got abated after her death. At the time of death, she was undoubtedly a convicted person for writing irresponsibly.
Furthermore, if Gauri Lankesh’s work was a voice of truth, fearlessness or if the supporters are now saying so, including the Congress Government, then why leave the stone unturned? In the concerned story, she had alleged that BJP MP Pralhad Joshi is supporting three individuals involved in fraudulent activities. She named Shivanand Bhat, Venkatesh Mestry, and secretary of Pralhad Joshi, Umesh Dhoshi as three of them. Lankesh’s article suggests that the trio cheated a person named Somnath Nikam and even threatened him. If what she had been writing is the torch of truth and was the examples of fearless reporting, the question I have is straightforward. The story printed by her is primarily about an offense and is a criminal case. She could have filed a complaint with police, anyone including Prakash Raj; Kavitha Lankesh can even file a complaint with the police right now. Even Mr. Kumarswamy, the present CM can direct the police to investigate the matter right now if there’s any truth in what she wrote.
But perhaps, neither Gauri Lankesh did it, nor would any of her ‘I am Gauri’ slogan raisers do it. Therefore, the moot point is, do they believe what they are talking, yelling, crying out aloud about Gauri is true? Is it some superstition they want to live with? Or do they know for themselves the hollowness of the cries and the statements, but continue with it to reap the rich harvests in the form of media publicity, furthering the left-liberals agenda etc.?
“Provocative speeches against Gods and specific organizations”
Karnataka High Court had in 2013 dismissed her petition to quash a First Information Report against her. It would not be out of place to reproduce what the High Court stated in its order. The program, a rally addressed by Gauri Lankesh was mainly a reaction to oppose the act of disturbing some other program, held on August 4, 2012. Here’re specific excerpts from her speech-
“What is this Hindu Religion, who is the profounder of this religion, we know the profounder of Christian religion and the holy book, we know the Mohammedan religion and also its holy book, likewise, about the Sikh religion, the Buddhism religion, Jain religion, but who is the profounder of the Hindu religion and it is also stated that this is a religion without a father and mother and it does not have a holy book? It never existed, and it was named only after the British, can it be called a religion?” In the same speech, she had also said: ‘The “R.S.S.” is a poisonous snake and so are-“Srirama Sene,” “Hindu Jagarana Vedhike,” “Bajaranga Dala,” etc. So also, it is stated, “these are the persons, who are responsible for the death of Mahatma Gandhi and destruction of Babri Masjid.”
Therefore, the violent Naxal organizations for which she was alleged of playing a sympathizer are all good, only Hindu outfits are equated to a snake?
Of course, High Court did not entertain her demand and directed her to face the trial. The persons who filed the complaint must have felt sorry after her sudden death, that she became a celebrity post-death; otherwise, she would have been in jail.
Article defaming Sri Raghaveshwara Swamiji
In another row, Gauri Lankesh Patrike printed an article on Swamiji in its May 27, 2009 issue. A complaint was filed, FIR was registered against her. One of the accused had even sought anticipatory bail before High Court. The report was defamatory and aimed at hurting the religious sentiments of devotees.
Yet again, she did not stand by her work and did not prove that she had published a factual work. What was is the intention of the depiction of Lord Hanuman’s body, pasting the Seer’s face and showing Mallika Sherawat in its heart? Was it an attempt to take sadistic pleasure? If she had something in hand; she should have pursued it correctly in the court.
In the conclusion, one can understand the Gauri Lankesh’s work was confined to set a rhetoric antagonism, the void of answers to the questions she posed!
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