Bengaluru resonates with #IAmGauri as protesters throng Central College grounds

coastaldigest.com news network
September 12, 2017

Bengaluru, Sept 12: Thousands of fans of slain journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh including progressive thinkers, writers and rights activists came together on Tuesday to protest the coldblooded murder of one of the most fearless journalists the country has ever produced.

Sporting black badges that read - #IAmGauri - the protesters took out a rally from the Sangolli Rayanna Railway Station to the Central College grounds, where a protest meeting was held. Over 300 policemen were deployed in and around the Central College.

Choking with emotion, Gauri’s mother Indira Lankesh said: “She [Gauri] fought with every fibre of her body. For me, all of you are my Gauris.”

Social activist Teesta Setalvad recalled her association with Gauri. “Though we are of the same age, she called me her little sister, as I had a lot to learn from her. The only thing bearable in the death is the support that has come now. We can't let cohesion resistance go in vain,” she said.

She also said Gauri believed that the youth were the real opposition. “She had a rational outlook and believed in the freedom of questioning. No majoritarian fascist can take it away from us. We can't afford to be sectarian under individual flags. We can't let the death go in vain.”

Chandrashekar Patil, writer, read out a poem as a tribute to Gauri. “A few years ago, I was Dabholkar... then, Pansare. And, two years ago, when my classmate, colleague and comrade M.M. Kalburgi was assassinated, I became Kalburgi. Now, I’m Gauri,” he said.

CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury said, “I'm here as a foot soldier of Indian democracy and idea of India. It isn't abstract. It's concrete and alive. It can coexist only if there is opportunity to discuss and debate without bullets to kill. That's the spirit to kill caste, religious minorities. The battle of ideas is the idea of India. My India doesn't remain if it is killed through bullets.”

He added that the country had lost a person who disagreed verbally, who was an active participant and who never eliminated ideas.

“What has happened with Gauri is unacceptable and is not an isolated incident. We're here because we're now realising that we are in the path of a movement where those in authority and power are creating a totalitarian state. It is the antithesis of India,” he said.

While referring to the RSS and the BJP filing cases, he said that one cannot be cowed down. “Remember, Mahatma Gandhi was a victim of the Hindu Rashtra and those against diversity.”

Acclaimed Kannada writer and Dalit activist Devanur Mahadeva said that when India got Independence, there were dreams of an ideal Indian society, of how it should be in the future. “What has happened now? Our mentality is going backwards. The dream has become a nightmare. Now, the majority is ‘Indianness’. And Kalburgi, Gauri are being killed as the majority marches on.”

It is not just intellectuals, even religious heads are facing threats, claimed Shivamurthy Swamiji of Chitradurga Muruga Mutt.

Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar said that the coming together of so many voices on one stage was reason for optimism. “Those who want to crush, not just the Constitution, but aspirations of equality are in power today,” she remarked.

A special edition of Gauri Lankesh weekly was released. The protest meeting is likely to go on till evening.


Comments

Rameez
 - 
Tuesday, 12 Sep 2017

Good gather. Good to see pfi and sdpi

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News Network
March 29,2020

Madikeri, Mar 29: In an alarming situation in neighbouring Kerala State and instances of inter-state migration of Coronavirus suspects, the authorities on Sunday sealed both Dakshina Kannada and Kodagu borders, prohibiting entry of people from Kerala into Karnataka.

Dakshina Kannada had sealed its borders after repeated instances of people misusing ambulance services to travel to Mangalore. Villagers along with the police hauled mud on to the roads that were used as alternate routes.

The road that connects the two States, which people from east Kasargod used to enter into Karnataka, were closed at Mulleria by dumping mud on the road.

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News Network
May 28,2020

May 28: Boeing is cutting more than 12,000 jobs through layoffs and buyouts as the coronavirus pandemic seizes the travel industry, and more cuts are coming.

One of the nation's biggest manufacturers will lay off 6,770 U.S. employees this week, and another 5,520 workers are taking buyout offers to leave voluntarily in the coming wee

Air travel within the U.S. tumbled 96% by mid-April, to fewer than 100,000 people on some days. It has recovered slightly. The Transportation Security Administration said it screened 264,843 people at airports on Tuesday, a drop of 89% compared with the same Tuesday a year ago.

Boeing had said it would cut 10% of a work force that numbered about 160,000. A Boeing spokesperson said Wednesday's actions represent the largest number of job cuts, but several thousand additional jobs will be eliminated in the next few months.

The layoffs are expected to be concentrated in the Seattle area, home to Boeing's commercial-airplanes business. The defense and space division is stable and will help blunt the impact of the decline in air travel and demand for passenger jets, the company said.

Boeing said additional job cuts will be made in international locations, but it did not specify numbers.

"The COVID-19 pandemic's devastating impact on the airline industry means a deep cut in the number of commercial jets and services our customers will need over the next few years, which in turn means fewer jobs on our lines and in our offices," CEO David Calhoun said Wednesday in a memo to employees.

Calhoun said the company faces the challenges of keeping employees safe and working with suppliers and airlines "to assure the traveling public that it can fly safe from infection."

Calhoun warned that Boeing will have to adjust business plans constantly because the pandemic makes it hard to predict the impact on the company's business.

Boeing's crisis began with two crashes of its 737 Max, which led regulators around the world to ground the jetliner last year. The company's problems have deepened with the coronavirus, which has cut global air traffic by up to 90% and caused airlines to postpone or cancel orders and deliveries for new planes.

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News Network
February 5,2020

Chennai, Feb 5: The popular cine actor Rajinikanth has defended the Union Government on the Citizenship Amendment Act, saying it will not affect the Indian Muslims.

In a brief interaction with reporters this morning in Chennai, the matinee idol said if the Muslims are affected by the CAA, he would be at the forefront in their defence. He asked how will the legislation affect the Indian Muslims when they chose to stay back in the country to make it their motherland. Mr Rajinikanth also supported the National Population Register saying it has been in force even in the past.

On the NRC, Mr Rajinikanth said the Government has already made it clear that its nationwide rollout has not been even discussed so far. Mr Rajinikanth is nourishing political ambitions and has made it clear that he would plunge into politics ahead of the Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections in the state which is due in 2021.

Comments

Arif
 - 
Wednesday, 5 Feb 2020

This law violates the fundamentals of the Indian constitution. Whey they are seeing the Muslims angle first?

 

It looks that they are misinforming the public by diverting into a Muslim only issue. If that was the case, why so many non-Muslims are protesting? I looks like Rajini has back-end support to the center's CAA move.

 

Suresh SS
 - 
Wednesday, 5 Feb 2020

He is another crack, hamare desh main pagal logon ki kami nahi

Wellwisher
 - 
Wednesday, 5 Feb 2020

What can expect from ex KSRTC bus conductor

 

 
clear sign of ZERO knowedge with Indian constitution.

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