Gauri Lankesh posthumously honoured with Anna Politkovskaya international award

News Network
October 5, 2017

Bengaluru, Oct 5: Journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh, who was shot dead by unknown assailants on September 5, has been posthumously accorded with the prestigious Anna Politkovskaya Award, instituted by Reach All Women (RAW) in War.

RAW, in a statement, said that it was 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. Ms. Ismail 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.

With mixed feelings, Kavitha Lankesh, Gauri’s sister, told media persons here on Thursday 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 Ms. Kavitha.

The announcement of the award was an emotional one, as Gauri's brother Indrajit Lankesh, mother Indira Lankesh and close friend M.S. Ashadevi struggled to find words to express their feelings on RAW honouring Gauri with this international award.

Gauri was awarded with Periyar Award posthumously by the Thinkers Forum on September 17 in Bengaluru.

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.

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News Network
July 2,2020

Bengaluru, Ju 2 As many as 19 deaths and 1,502 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Karnataka till 5 pm on Thursday, as per information provided by the State Health Department.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in the state now stands at 18,016, including 9,406 active cases.

While 8,334 patients have been discharged after treatment, 272 people have succumbed to the virus.

India's COVID-19 tally breached the 6 lakh cases mark with 19,148 new coronavirus cases being reported in the last 24 hours, informed the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday.

The total cases now stand at 6,04,641 of which there are 2,26,947 active cases while 3,59,860 patients have been cured/discharged/migrated. 434 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours taking the number of COVID-19 deaths in the country to 17,834.

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News Network
February 16,2020

Mangaluru, Feb 16: An elderly woman from Tamil Nadu was on Saturday reunited with her daughter and son after 14 years at the Mangaluru's White Doves destitute home.

"Mary only knew her name when she came here 10 years ago. Recently, she told us about her home town," Corrine Rusquinha, founder of White Doves told media.
Mary had gone missing 14 years ago from her hometown Kortampet in Tamil Nadu.

"Ten years ago, she was spotted by Mangaluru police who brought her to White Doves home late one evening. Initially, she could only speak Tamil, so it was presumed she was from Tamil Nadu. She was on psychiatric treatment," Rusquinha said.

A few days back, a visiting priest at the White Doves home spoke to Mary in Tamil and asked about her hometown.

"Surprisingly, she could recall the name of her hometown, following which the visiting priest contacted the pastor at Kortampet. Mary's family, including her daughter Gnana Anthony, who is a paramedic student in Coimbatore, was informed about Mary," she said.

Soon after, Gnana and her elder brother came to Mangaluru to take their mother back to their home.

Mary's husband Jhonson, who worked as a cook, had died within a year of losing his wife.

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News Network
March 22,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 22: Monday's only pending II PU exam (English) and SSLC exams scheduled to start on March 27 have been postponed due to Covid-19 concerns. The new dates will be announced in April first week.

The decision was taken after a meeting with chief minister BS Yediyurappa on Sunday morning, said state primary and secondary education minister S Suresh Kumar.

Around 8.25 lakh students are to appear for the Class 10 exam.

"I appeal to SSLC students not to get frustrated. I know you're fully prepared, fully geared up. But this is a peculiar situation which calls for hard decisions. The new timetable will be published very soon. Students should treat is as an extended study leave. Please revise more. Do not treat this as a relaxation time. You'll have plenty of time to relax after the exams," he said.

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