An award for outstanding journalism is to be instituted in her name

On September 5, journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh was murdered, her voice silenced. But the Kannada weekly tabloid she edited, which became a platform for progressive voices in the State, may soon be revived. Efforts are on to revive the weekly paper, to be run by a trust with her friends.

The trust, likely to include activist Teesta Setalvad and journalist Rajdeep Sardesai apart from other friends, will also organise an annual lecture and institute an award for outstanding journalism in Gauri Lankesh’s name, sources said.

Ms. Setalvad, who told The Hindu that she was happy to be associated with the proposed trust to memorialise her friend, said that deliberations on details of the trust were still in an early stage, and that it was too early to comment on it.

A group of Gauri Lankesh’s friends, working towards the formation of such a trust, held a meeting in the city on Saturday. Professor V.S. Sridhar, who attended the meeting, said that the paper was likely to be called Nanu Gauri , as it was a slogan that organically emerged from the people who mourned her death.

“We want the paper to sustain itself. So we will go around the country to raise funds through donations, which will be used as capital to start and run the weekly tabloid,” said Mr. Sridhar.

‘Gauri Balaga’

Her friends have also decided to create a group comprising like-minded people from all districts of the State under the banner ‘Gauri Balaga’. It will organise programmes at the grassroots level and get subscriptions for the paper, sources said. The editorial staff of the paper is yet to be put together.

Gauri quit the paper ‘Lankesh Patrike’, started by her father in 1980, and produced her own tabloid Gauri Lankesh in 2005, after a bitter fall out with her brother Indrajith Lankesh, who claimed ownership of the paper.

Her colleagues and friends, brought out a special edition of the paper in memory of Gauri, with her last editorial on September 12, released during the ‘I am Gauri’ protest rally taken out in the city. That was the last edition of the tabloid Gauri Lankesh.

Award and fellowship

The proposed trust to be formed will also give out an annual award in the name of Gauri Lankesh, to fearless and outstanding journalists, apart from a proposal-based fellowship for investigative journalism for upcoming journalists. “A discussion is on as to whether a separate trust needs to be formed to run the paper or the same trust will do so,” Prof. Sridhar said.

The trust and the weekly paper are likely to be formally announced by November-end.

The group working towards this, aims to organise the first annual lecture, give the award and release the first edition of the weekly at a two-day event on January 29-30, 2018, Gauri Lankesh’s birthday and Martyr’s Day, respectively.

In memoriam: What’s on the cards

Revival of Gauri’s weekly tabloid, most likely to be rechristened ‘Nanu Gauri’

An annual award that acknowledges fearless and outstanding journalists

Fellowship for investigative journalism