Gauri Lankesh’s views will not die because they are intrinsic to freedom and humaneness. And her killers are confused because they do not know how they can kill any better.
BY THEY KILLED HER. AND THEN THEY KILLED her again. And yet again. And yet, she does not die.
If you were one of them, you would actually consider her lucky the first time round. Because, of the four bullets fired from that country made pistol, from that close range, only three found their mark. If you were one of them and you had had your way, the fourth too should have. Now it is almost as if one bullet did not do its job. It is as if one bullet spared her by not ripping into her flesh and bones like the rest. So as you go about killing her again, you need to be unsparing, in the filth you throw at her, in the calumny you unleash on her, in the spleen you vent on her.
If you were one of them, her refusal to die in spite of this multiple killing would leave you in a fit of jealousy and rage. You would start seeing red and call her a Commie, that ultimate cuss word in your vocabulary for those you viscerally hate because they are intellectually way above and beyond your grasp. When it looks like that intended slight only enhances her reputation, you would turn apoplectic and lapse into incoherent obscenities against her. You would blindly hit out at anyone and everyone who so much as cast a sympathetic, kindly glance at where she stood, and what she stood for, before she was felled. You would berate the media for making her the subject of conversation and concern for even these few days. You would pettily grudge her the state honours with which she was laid to rest. You would vengefully crow about how she had it coming and how she deserved every bit of it. You would drop dark hints about more helmeted riders on motorcycles armed with country made pistols being out there on the streets to deal with others who, like her, foolishly took their freedom of speech seriously.
THEY ASK, WHY ALL THIS FUSS
Bu hikaye FRONTLINE dergisinin September 29, 2017 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye FRONTLINE dergisinin September 29, 2017 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
How Not To Handle An Epidemic
The lockdowns were meant to buy time to put in place appropriate health measures and contain the coronavirus’ spread, but they have failed to achieve the objective and heaped immense misery on the marginalised sections of society. India is still in the exponential phase of the COVID-19 infection and community transmission is a reality that the government refuses to accept.
Tragedy on foot
As the COVID-19-induced lockdown cuts the ground beneath their feet in Tamil Nadu, thousands of migrant workers are trudging along the highway to the relative safety of their upcountry homes.
Sarpanchs as game changers
Odisha manages to keep COVID-19 well under control because of the strong participation of panchayati raj institutions and the community at the grass-roots level under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Scapegoating China
As the COVID-19 death rate spikes and the economy tanks in the United States, Donald Trump and his advisers target China and the World Health Organisation with an eye to winning the forthcoming presidential election.
New worries
Kerala’s measured approach to the pandemic and lockdown has yielded results. But it still has to grapple with their huge economic impact on its economy, which it feels the Centre’s special financial relief package does little to alleviate.
No love lost for labour
Taking advantage of the lockdown and the inability of workers to organise protests, many State governments introduce sweeping changes to labour laws to the detriment of workers on the pretext of reviving production and boosting the economy.
Capital's Malthusian moment
In a world that needs substantial reorienting of production and distribution, Indian capital is resorting to a militant form of moribund neoliberalism to overcome its current crisis. In this pursuit of profit, it is ready and willing to throw into mortal peril millions whom it adjudicates as not worth their means—an admixture of social Darwinism born of capital’s avarice and brutalism spawned by Hindutva. .
Understanding migration
When governments and their plans are found to be blatantly wanting in addressing reverse migration, exercises such as the Ekta Parishad’s survey of migrant workers throughout India can be useful to work out creative long-lasting solutions.
Waiting for Jabalpur moment
The Supreme Court’s role in ensuring executive accountability during the ongoing lockdown leaves much to be desired. Standing in shining contrast is the record of some High Courts.
An empty package
The Modi regime, which has been unable to control the COVID-19 infection, restore economic activity and provide relief to millions exposed to starvation, trains its sights on Indian democracy, making use of the panic generated by fear and a lockdown that forecloses paths of resistance.
