Gauri Lankesh's murder celebrated by right wing trolls on social media
Last night's shocking murder of veteran journalist Gauri Lankesh in an upscale Bengaluru locality sent shockwaves throughout the country. Shot in cold blood at the gates of her residence, possibly by as many as three assailants, many saw Lankesh's murder as the result of her willingness to take on the establishment.
While murder is something one would imagine is universally condemnable, India's polarised atmosphere actually saw many on social media revelling in this gruesome killing. Galling as it might be, this should come as no surprise given the take-no-prisoners attitude that prevails on social media when it comes to politics in the country.
While many of those celebrating Lankesh's death were fringe elements with barely any followers and, therefore, no real voice, others were popular news anchors, and some of these handles were even followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself. Here's a quick overview of the disgusting vitriol that Lankesh's murder has elicited:
1) Former Zee News journalist Jagrati Shukla, previously in the news for bigoted statements on Sikhs and Muslims, was at it again:
So, Commy Gauri Lankesh has been murdered mercilessly. Your deeds always come back to haunt you, they say. Amen.#Bengaluru#GauriLankesh
— Jagrati Shukla (@JagratiShukla29) September 5, 2017
2) A businessman, followed by no less than the Prime Minister himself, called Lankesh a 'bitch':
A troll followed by PM @narendramodi reacts to death of #GauriLankesh
— Ankit Lal (@AnkitLal) September 6, 2017
If this #CultureOfViolence doesn't wake you up, nothing will. pic.twitter.com/tGibw4BRUC
3) One of the most vicious attacks came from a well known troll. Here, he advocates not just the killing of Lankesh, but calls for violence against many others:
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4) As always, the ideological divide was enough for many to put their political feelings ahead of their humanity:
Only the LOL salam pimps and few brainless congis are protesting#WhoKilledGauri #LankeshMurdered #GauriLankesh #GauriLankeshMurder
— Abhijeet R P (@KarizmaAJ) September 6, 2017
5) Lankesh's closeness to the Left, and her work with 'commies' also drew flak.
Would the elites of India mourned the death of a journalist if she was not a high born elite daughter of a commie & if she wasn't a naxal?
— Anjali George (@Kuvalayamala) September 6, 2017
So much hue n cry for a commie leech a true pig in the form of humans https://t.co/5b6XBKIwVp
— Frederik Drinkwater (@welshmakinit) September 6, 2017
6) While her opposition to Hindutva was also used to justify her killing.
#GauriLankesh One who has questioned Hinduism so tht she can gain name nd fame in d society & Naxalite sympathiser. Seculars ršš @ippatel pic.twitter.com/Ed3Kc1Jpd3
— Mayank Singh (@Rajputanalegend) September 6, 2017
7) And while all of these tweets were reprehensible, the most idiotic take on the matter, unsurprisingly, belonged to Gayatri Jayaraman of 'Urban Poor' fame:
