'I feel Gauri's voice still resonating somewhere,' says Kavitha Lankesh

New Indian Express

12-05-2025

The assassination of Gauri Lankesh at the doorstep of her residence in Bengaluru, a scathing indictment of the perils of critical or analytical journalism in this country, is fresh in public memory even to this day, as we're almost eight years away from the abominable incident. As Rollo Romig's investigative book on the murder – I Am on the Hit List – has just become a finalist in Pulitzer Prizes 2025, Kavitha Lankesh, Gauri's sister, believes the achievement to be the latest echo to Gauri's persistent presence. Despite coming second to Benjamin Nathans' To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause in the General Nonfiction category, as Kavitha says, 'Being shortlisted for a Pulitzer is already amazing; I feel Gauri's voice still resonating somewhere.'
Romig's book on Gauri could hardly have found a platform more fitting than The Pulitzer Prizes; even beyond acting as a reminder, it is a timely feat in context of India's rapid descent in press freedom indices for about a decade. Kavitha, who hopes it will shed some international acknowledgement of this abysmal state, remarks, 'I hope we recognise journalism as what my father [P Lankesh, founder of Lankesh Patrike] and Gauri stood for: being critical watchdogs. That is a very unsafe field right now – being truthful is quite scary these days.'
Kavitha maintains absolute praise for the extent and depth of Romig's research behind the book. 'He was here for almost a year and a half, combining the two trips he took here in 2018 and 2019; he's done a meticulous job, meeting everybody of relevance: from family and friends to investigators and office staff. He has fleshed her out not just as a journalist, but as a person, including her interests and passions,' she says. The success of the book, providing an in-depth portraiture of Gauri's ethics, raises important – albeit timid – hopes about the implementation of necessary infrastructure to safeguard journalists. 'I hope it happens. In this day and age, a story will invite a multitude of trolls and abuse behind anonymity. This is especially true for a woman journalist,' Kavitha says.
Kavitha, a director and screenwriter by vocation, believes her work is affected by Gauri's life, not death. 'After her death, I made a documentary titled Gauri – going back to her life and purpose caused me a lot of emotional turmoil, but also exhilaration. When she was around, I would discuss all my scripts with her. She taught me to be aware and sensitive, and to speak for the unspoken,' she asserts.