Source: The Indian Express

You feel that Gauri Lankesh’s voice is resonating somewhere when I Am on the Hit List becomes a Pulitzer nominee. Placed second in the General Non-fiction category, Lankesh’s assassination hints at the perils lurking upon the press freedom in India. She is fresh in our memory. Her death wasn’t without a cause as Rollo Romig’s amazing investigative prowess is at display. This couldn’t have come at a better time when India’s press freedom ranking is already in the decline. Kavitha, sister of Gauri Lankesh is exhilarated to have her sister’s death avenged at an international platform as befitting as Pulitzer. She herself directed the documentary- Gauri post her demise but this absolute attention to Gauri on a global platform wouldn’t have been possible without Romig and Pulitzer.

To those new to the name, Gauri Lankesh was a journalist and an activist who edited Lankesh Patrike, a Kannada weekly, founded by her father P Lankesh. Gauri was a critical watchdog of right-wing nationalist extremism. Perhaps, this proved fatal. She was shot dead outside her house. The gunmen went unrecognized. It is not that Gauri wasn’t aware of the abysmal state of journalism, but the fact that the world recognized the decent after her death is scary as well as sorrowful. In Romig’s work, Gauri is portrayed in flesh and blood. Her work ethic gives a ray of hope to supplanted but not so timid spirits to rise against all odds. Her passionate journalism urges us to safeguard the pillars of democracy and rightful questioning.

Amidst the trolls and abuse that a standalone voice invites, one cannot help but hide behind anonymity. But Gauri didn’t. And the fact that she didn’t; she paid the price.  Journalism was never a safe field. Moreover, truth irrespective of the field has less takers. Is the publication highlighting the life and works of Gauri the need of the hour? Yes, her persistent presence needed another reawakening.

image source: Hans India