Women journalists take out silent march to condemn Gauri Lankesh murder

Bhubaneswar: Women journalists from print, electronic and digital media staged a silent protest march in the state capital on Friday condemning the killing of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh.

The protesters held placards and posters that read, ‘We are all Gauri’, ‘Silence is not an option’, and ‘Ideas are bulletproof’ and protested against the attempts to strangulate the voice of fearless journalism.

Organised under the banner of Odisha Women Journalists’ Forum, the march was taken out from Ram Mandir Square to Ekamra Haat here. The journalists demanded arrest of Lankesh’s killers at the earliest and also protection for all journalists across India.

Sarada Lahangir of the forum said, “The killing was an attack on rational and free thinking. We see a serious threat to the democracy in such incidents.”

The protest was also against the climate of ‘hatred’ and ‘intolerance’ in the society, she added.

Minati Singha of the forum said, “It is a violation of freedom of expression, which includes the rights of newspersons to discharge their duties without fear guaranteed by the Constitution of India.”

The 55-year-old editor of a Kannada tabloid was gunned down outside her home in Bengaluru on September 5 by an unknown assailant.

Prachitara, another member of the forum, said, “In a democratic country like India, all opinions should be respected. To put an end to such incidents, we need to raise our voice against them.”

Apart from journalists, people from all walks of life joined the march.