“We are living in Modi fied India”- Jignesh Mewani

Writing about the influence of slain journalist Gauri Lankesh in his growth as an activist, Gujarat Dalit leader and MLA, Jignesh Mewani (who emerged into the forefront after Una), said that she was a mother to young activists like him and was killed because of her strong anti-Hindutva views, by those who disagreed with her politics.

Talking about the present situation in the country, one year after the brutal murder of Gauri, he said, “We are not living in India, we are living in ‘Modi-fied India’, where there is no space for dissent. We are living in toxic times where the violence that once shook us has become normalised and a Kalburgi has been followed by a Gauri, a Gauri followed by a Shujaat, a Shujaat followed by who knows who it might be next.”

It must be recalled that the first death anniversary of Gauri Lankesh saw the coming together of many public figures like Girish Karnad, Swami Agnivesh, JNU student leaders, Kanhaiya Kumar and Umar Khalid.