The Way I See It: A Gauri Lankesh Reader

by Gauri Lankesh; Edited by Chandan Gowda

Paperback

Published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Areeb Ahmad (Bankrupt_Bookworm) · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Gauri's murder was out of the ordinary and needed to be taken note of by the rulers of the nation because she was a purveyor of democratic ideas, a senior journalist, a spokesperson for the people, for freedom and probity. In that sense it signified more than the murder of her person. It was a determined act of liquidation, of stamping out the values she stood for. It signified a typically fascist, typically cowardly act of making death a tool to silence dissent."

// Foreword, Paul Zacharia.

In tribute, Umar Khalid calls Gauri Lankesh "everything that the Sangh loves to hate—a fearless and opinionated single woman, an extremely important voice against Hindutva and someone who wrote extensively against caste." I, myself, got to know of her in college and only after she was no more. I didn't seek out her writing or familiarize myself with her work then and I regret not engaging with her sooner. This reader, put together by a friend, is but a small glimpse into her large oeuvre, a tiny selection of years of journalism.

Gauri Lankesh's voice is direct, without frills, full of clarity and precision. She did not beat about the bush and her biting criticism wasn't limited to one party or power, she hit back at them all when it came to lack of dedication & dereliction of their duties. Championing the cause of syncretic plurality, India rising to its full potential, she never stopped speaking truth to power, especially when it came to Karnataka, even in the face of intimidation and threats. Unfortunately, just like Kalburgi, Dabholkar, and Pansare, she paid for it with her life.

[Gokul KP · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a friend who once told me he was radicalized by the death of Gauri Lankesh. Reading this book made me realise how her life's work would have radicalized anyone who was familiar with it, so it's no surprise, honestly.

[Radhika · Rating 4 out of 5]

shocking and brilliant.