How foreign media covered the Gauri Lankesh  murder

Foreign media organisations such as the New York Times, The Guardian, BBC and Washington Post reported on the Gauri Lankesh murder.

The killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh has sparked outrage with its resonance being felt in and outside the country. Lankesh, 55, editor of Kannada weekly Lankesh Patrike and a staunch critic of the right-wing ideology, was shot dead outside her home in Bengaluru on Tuesday. The attack has left many shocked who alleged that it was carried out by right-wing elements.

Opposition leaders have been quick to condemn the incident, demanding strong and swift retribution against the attackers. Union ministers like Smriti Irani and Rajyavardhan Rathore have also condemned the killing. Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah has announced formation of an SIT team to investigate the murder. As many in the country gather to protest against the cold-blooded murder, here’s a look into how foreign media organisations covered the incident:

The New York Times

The New York Times

Read | Gauri Lankesh murder: The enemy within

New York-based English-language daily The New York Times was running two stories from the Associated Press and Reuters agencies. The Reuters story describes Lankesh as a “fearless and outspoken journalist” noting that she was a critic of right-wing political ideology. It also includes quotes from Siddaramaiah and Bengaluru Police Commissioner. The AP story involves more details on the assailants and the current political climate in the country which indulged in “targeting journalists or outspoken critics of religious superstition and extreme Hindu politics.” The article also talks about the deaths of MM Kalburgi, Govind Pansari and Narendra Dabholkar who were also gunned down in a similar manner.

BBC

BBC

The BBC website also reported the story. It gives details on the killing and adds that Lankesh was “the most high profile Indian journalist to be murdered in recent years.” Quoting activists, the report also says that Indian journalists are increasingly becoming targets for radical Hindu nationalists. The story also mentions the frequent rape and assault threats received by women journalists.

The Guardian

The Guardian

The Guardian emphasised the fact that Lankesh was a strong critic of the Hindu extremists. In a story titled, Indian journalist critical of Hindu extremists is shot dead in Bangalore, the story includes statements from the Press Club of India saying it was likely that the murder was linked to her work. “A fearless and independent journalist who gave voice to many causes and always stood up for justice has been shot dead in the most brutal manner in order to silence her voice,” the statement read. The story also said that journalists had been killed “with complete impunity” in India since 1992.

The Washington Post

The Washington Post

Washington Post also published an agency story on Gauri Lankesh’s killing. The story said that India has seen multiple such incidents in recent years where independent journalists and critics of religious superstition are targetted. The article also said that these killings were causing “worries about the rise of extremism and intolerance in the secular South Asian democracy.”

For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App

印女记者被刺杀 曾批印度教极端主义者和种姓制度

中国焦点 博客 Tuesday, September 5, 2017

昨天（9月5日），印度年近6旬的著名女记者和社会活动家兰卡什（Gauri Lankesh）在家门口被刺杀，她在生前曾经批评印度教极端分子对她有如同“狂犬病一般的仇恨”，还认为“不幸的是，今天任何人对于人权发表支持，并且反对非法谋杀都会被贴上毛主义的标签。”

　　兰卡什曾经是印度埃纳德语（Kannada）小报的编辑，经常在报纸上大肆批评印度教极端主义者。而印度现总理莫迪组建的人民党政府往往被认为是印度教政府。

　　根印度记者组织的统计报告，从1992年以来，至少有27起针对记者的谋杀，凶手没有受到任何惩罚。

外媒报道截图

　　事件所发生的城市是印度著名高科技中心，同时也是印度第五大城市班加罗尔。警方称，兰卡什9月5日晚间在住所外遭到了3名蒙面枪手的袭击，兰卡什本人在被枪击之后不久死亡，目前还不知道犯罪分子的动机。

　　在她被刺的消息传出之后，一小群抗议者在她家外围举行了集会，抗议凶手对她的刺杀。

　　兰卡什生前以对印度教激进组织的激烈批评而闻名，去年还被印度人民党起诉诽谤，而她本人在一直对此进行上诉。兰卡什去年向印度著名新媒体网站Newslaundry表示，印度教极端分子对她如同“狂犬病一般的仇恨”（rabid hate）这让她感到惧怕，她担心印度未来是否还会有言论自由。

　　她说“不幸的是，今天任何人对于人权发表支持，并且反对非法谋杀都会被贴上毛主义的标签。”随后她补充道：“我对于印度教政治（Hindutva politics）还有种姓制度的批评让我成为了一个很好的靶子——仇恨印度教的人。但是我认为，宪法赋予我的义务将让我继续努力，为了印度社会的改革，建立一个更加公正平等的社会。”

　　印度记者组织在一份声明中称，他们相信兰卡什是因为她的批评而被谋杀的。根据这个组织的统计报告，从1992年以来，有27起针对记者的谋杀，凶手没有受到任何惩罚。另外还有25起谋杀被认为是和记者的所发表的言论有关。

　　延伸阅读：

　　目前，印度国内的“非法谋杀”情况已经非常严重，据观察者网先前报道，纽约时报称，印度教徒掀起冲突导致的死亡已经多到数不胜数，在莫迪执政的三年中，“多数人的暴政”（Majoritarian politics）在印度上升，同时，随之而来的偏见和暴力也开始针对少数派和反对者。而Whatsapp（印度首要社交软件）成为了首要的传声筒，不仅只是传播偏见，而且为社会中的仇恨火上浇油。

　　2013年，一段在Whatsapp上传播的假新闻造成了印度穆扎法尔讷格尔（Muzaffarnagar）的穆斯林和印度教徒之间重大冲突，超过40人死亡，数名穆斯林妇女被强奸，40000名穆斯林逃离家园，被迫住进了难民营，直到今天。

　　印度著名社会学家阿帕杜莱（Arjun Appadurai）说，少数派往往在多数人面前是虚弱的，但是群体的愤怒经常使得多数人感觉自己变成了受到欺压少数派，从而扭曲了事实。对于变成暴徒的村民来说，通过社交网络，他们执行了“多数人的暴政”。