Actress Shabana Azmi has also pledged to attend the protest rally organized today (6 September) evening in Mumbai.
Gauri Lankesh murder: Film stars condemn killing, express concerns over present times
Mumbai - 06 Sep 2017 13:00 IST
Keyur Seta
The murder of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh has come as a shock to the entire nation. She was vehemently against the ideologies of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its right wing ideology, and had made it clear through her writings and social activism.
Lankesh was shot by unknown assailants yesterday, 5 September, outsode her home in Bangalore.
The killing has once again raised questions about the right to dissent in today’s times as is evident from the continuous posts on social media. The incident has also affected people from the Hindi film fraternity. Some of whom made it clear through their social media posts over the incident.
Personalities like Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Mahesh Bhatt, Farhan Akhtar, Shekhar Kapur, Vishal Dadlani, Shekhar Ravjiani and others have condemned the killing on their respective Twitter handles. Surprisingly, Anupam Kher, who is known to tweet on every sad and shocking incident, has not given any reaction yet.
A protest rally has been organized today evening in Mumbai over the incident. Azmi has offered support and has announced that she will be attending it. She forwarded the post of the protest on Twitter and wrote, “Forwarded as received.I will be there.HotoN ko seeke dekhiye pachchtaiyega aap/ HungameiN jaag uthate haiN aksar ghutan ke baad Kaifi Azmi.”
Lankesh's murder is not a first in recent times. Progressive thinkers and rationalists like Govind Pansare, Narendra Dabholkar and M M Kalburgi were also murdered in similar ways over the past few years.
Reactions from Hindi film celebrities:
हà¥à¤à¤ à¤à¥ सà¥à¤à¥ दà¥à¤à¤¿à¤ पà¤à¥à¤à¥à¤¤à¤¾à¤à¤à¤à¤¾ à¤à¤ª / हà¤à¤à¤à¤®à¥à¤ à¤à¤¾à¤ à¤à¤ तॠहॠठà¤à¥à¤¸à¤° à¤à¥à¤à¤¨ à¤à¥ बाद Kaifi Azmi #Gauri Lankesh
— Azmi Shabana (@AzmiShabana) September 6, 2017
Ailan e haq mein khatrae daar o rasan tto hai/ lekin sawaal ye hai ke daar o rasan ke baad? # Kaifi Azmi # Gauri Lankesh
— Azmi Shabana (@AzmiShabana) September 6, 2017
HotoN ko see ke dekhiye pachhtaiyega aap/ HungameiN jaag uthate haiN aksar ghutan ke baad #Kaifi Azmi #Gauri Lankesh
— Azmi Shabana (@AzmiShabana) September 6, 2017
Dhabolkar , Pansare, Kalburgi , and now Gauri Lankesh . If one kind of people are getting killed which kind of people are the killers .
— Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu) September 5, 2017
When the debate is lost, murder becomes the tool to strangle dissident thought .
— Mahesh Bhatt (@MaheshNBhatt) September 6, 2017
Shameful.. what kind of society are we becoming?? Deepest condolences to the family and hope justice is delivered soon. https://t.co/OTh49Gztz8
— Farhan Akhtar (@FarOutAkhtar) September 6, 2017
When "intellectual" becomes an abuse, words are replied with bullets.
— Shirish Kunder (@ShirishKunder) September 5, 2017
RIP #GauriLankesh.
To kill someone for their views is not Democracy, its beginnings of a Banana Republic, where violence speaks louder than words #GauriLankesh
— Shekhar Kapur (@shekharkapur) September 6, 2017
Brutality & murder as tools to silence dissent. You decide. How responsible are you & your silence, for letting this happen to India?
— VISHAL DADLANI (@VishalDadlani) September 6, 2017
Another liberal, rational voice snuffed out by "unidentified assailants". Gauri Lankesh RIP. Dabholkar, Kalburgi, Pansare. Who killed them?
— Renuka Shahane (@renukash) September 5, 2017
Extremely dangerous signs whn a country witnesses crusaders activists & journalists who question the govt being murdered. RIP #GauriLankesh
— Jaaved Jaaferi (@jaavedjaaferi) September 6, 2017
