Journalist-turned-activist Gauri lankesh has been posthumously awarded prestigious Anna Politkovaskaya award instituted by Reach All Women (RAW). In a Press conference, the family of Gauri lankesh disclosed this in Bengaluru on Thursday and said it was a great honour to one and all who supported Gauri. The joint Press conference addressed by Gauri’s mother Indira, sisiter Kavitha lankesh and brother Indrajit lankesh said Gauri was the first woman journalist in the country to get this award.
RAW, in a statement, said that we are honoured to award the annual Anna Politkovskaya Award for women human rights defenders from war and conflict zones jointly to Gauri lankesh posthumously, and to a brave Pakistani activist Gulalai Ismaial, who similarly is fighting against Islamic extremism. Ismaial has faced the death threats for speaking out against the Taliban in north-west Pakistan.
Gauri is the 12th woman to receive this prestigious award. Nominations Committee members have observed that they were deeply moved by Gauri and Gulalai’s bravery and dedication to peace and human rights. The citation reads, Gauri lankesh was a major figure in India, critic of right-wing Hindu extremism, campaigner for women’s rights, fiercely opposed to the caste system, campaigning for rights of Dalits and so on.
Kavitha lankesh said that the Anna Politkovskaya Award was a morale booster for people who want to write and continue to fight against injustice. It was an honour not only for the members of Gauri’s family, but also to “huge family” that loved Gauri for her commitment to the cause of secular ideals, justice, equality and women rights. “In fact, the award honours what Gauri stood for throughout her life... that ‘you cannot silence me’,” said a teary-eyed Kavitha.
Anna Politkovskaya, a Russian journalist was killed in 2006 in Moscow for her courage to speak out on behalf of the suffering of the civilians in the war in Chechnya. “It is not by coincidence that Gauri’s work, her personality and the way she was killed for her work reminded us so much of the way Anna lived and died for the truth,” said members of nominations committee.
To mark the anniversary of Anna Politkovskaya’s murder on October 7, 2006 and to honour Anna and the women like in the world, RAW in War annually presents the award to a female human rights defender from conflict zone.
Gauri lankesh will share the annual award, instituted in memory of a Russian investigative reporter who was assassinated last year in Moscow, with Pakistani activist Gulalai Ismail. Ismail is fighting rightwing extremism in Pakistan. The award is conferred by london-based organisation RAW in WAR (Reach All Women in War), and the announcement about lankesh winning it was made to the media in Bengaluru by her mother Indira, brother Indrajit and sister Kavitha lankesh.
“Today, we received an email from Russia that my sister has been chosen for the Anna Politkovskaya Award. She is the first Indian recipient of the award,” Kavitha said. “Anna was an activist-journalist just like my sister. She was killed on October 7, 2006, when she was in a lift. Five people accosted her and poisoned her,” she said, quoting from the email.
Indrajit said, “I have lost my sister. I appeal to the government to nab the murderers. Finding out the motive may solve the riddle of M M Kalburgi, Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare murder (all rationalists) cases.”
Whether he was satisfied with the investigation by the 21-member Special Investigation Team formed by the Karnataka government, he said they wait for the killers to be caught. “We can’t say we are happy with the investigation till the killers are found. But we are satisfied with the work they are doing,” Kavitha said.
She expressed unhappiness over speculative stories appearing in the media.
Gauri lankesh, the founder-editor of the ‘Gauri lankesh Patrike’ and known to be an anti-establishment voice, was shot dead by unidentified men outside her residence on September 5. On October 3 this year, Karnataka minister Ramalinga Reddy claimed the SIT has identified the killers. He, however, did not share the details, saying the SIT was gathering more evidence.
Her assassination came days after the second anniversary of the killing of Kannada writer and rationalist M M Kalburgi, who fell to bullets fired by two unidentified men at his residence at Dharwad in north Karnataka in August 2015.