Journalists from the city came together on Wednesday to condemn the murder of Bengaluru-based journalist Gauri Lankesh, who was shot dead at her house on Tuesday night.
Holding up banners, the journalists took out a protest march near the Press Club in Chepauk. “Journalists should be able to exercise their constitutional rights and to write and report without fear. Incidents like this are on the rise and it is the duty of the State and Central governments to ensure that there is some sort of basic protection system in place,” said Sandhya Ravishankar, an independent journalist based in Chennai.
Expressing concern about how Ms. Lankesh’s killing was yet another attempt to clamp down on people who were vocal critics of right wing extremist ideologies, such as M.M. Kalburgi and Narendra Dabholkar, who were also murdered, the journalists demanded that the culprits be identified immediately.
“Journalists like Gauri Lankesh represent the idea of a plural and inclusive society, which many lawless elements fear, and want to bring down,” said retired journalist B.R.P. Bhaskar.
‘Safeguard rights’
Stating that the country had already ranked low in the Press Freedom index, independent journalist Kavita Muralidharan stated that it was important for journalists to come together and raise their voice against the continual silencing of right wing critics. “In the previous instances, there was no conclusive action taken against the culprits. It is very important that our rights are safeguarded,” she added.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam working president M.K. Stalin, on his Twitter page, said that he strongly condemned the brutal murder of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh. “Shocking that Journalists are being increasingly targeted by right wing groups,” he said, and called for the arrest of the assailants.
The Chennai Union of Journalists, in a statement, called for the setting up of a special investigation team by the Karnataka Chief Minister to probe the murder.
The Madras Union of Journalists also issued a statement calling for strict action to prevent such incidents happening in the future.
