Gauri Lankesh Anti-Hindu?. Media Cannot Differentiate Between Hinduism And Hindutva

The past few days have been strangely hurtful and numbing. Men, some of them young, have been justifying a cold blooded murder. “Gauri was killed for her anti-Hindu ideology,” something that has created disturbance among the people. The media cannot differentiate between Hinduism and Hindutva.

A part of the population across the country was devastated by Gauri Lankesh’s murder. Many openly gloated at her brutal killing. Others, faceless and anonymous on social media, even celebrated her death. All in the name of ‘Hinduism’. A woman member of BJP Yuva Morcha even posted that a Parashuram, the (name of the) alleged killer of Gauri, should be born in every Indian house.

The Sri Ram Sene, which is today claiming that it has nothing to do with the alleged killer, has reportedly sought funds to help his family. Gauri never opposed the religious beliefs of the people. As a family, we celebrated the Ganesha festival as we did Bakr Eid and Christmas, with great joy and fervour. She was also against fundamentalism in all religions.

In that sense she followed Ambedkar who said his respect is reserved for such religion which upholds equality and fraternity. As a corollary she opposed the casteism and patriarchy that is the basis of Hindutva. Gauri always believed that people’s faith in God and religion is completely different from organised politics based on manipulating people’s religious sentiments.

There she followed Buddha. She never considered mediation of God or religion necessary to consider fellow humans as brothers and sisters.

Gauri did not have a child of her own, but she was a mother to many. Isn’t it thus a cruel irony that the operation to kill Gauri was named “Amma” even by her killers.