Journalists are a pillar for unearthing the Truth and telling the people through various medium. Recent Panama Papers Leak was evident of how journalists in the world can successfully unveil the truth. But, it seems that India is becoming pretty bad for journalists, who try to expose the truth. There have been multiple incidents, where journalists are getting murdered for speaking their views against few big names publically.
Popular and acclaimed journalist Gauri Lankesh was gunned down on Tuesday in Bangalore. This unfortunate incident has opened up the debate of Freedom Of Speech once again. She is not the first journalist murdered in the country; there have been many cases like this over the years. India is placed at number 3 in the list of most dangerous countries for journalists to live in. A total of 64 journalists have been killed in between 1992 and 2015. Come to 2017, the number only increases. In order to focus on the dark history of India regarding journalist, we have compiled a list of 8 Journalists Murdered For Telling The Truth.
1. Gauri Lankesh
Gauri Lankesh was gunned down in her home in Bangalore yesterday. She has been writing about the failure of the government. Now it seems that this has resulted in her death. She often expresses strong views on the right-wing politics. Her killing has woken up whole journalist community, who are wondering about the same.
2. Ram Chander Chhatrapati
You must be aware of the recent verdict against so-called Godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim. Ram Chander Chhatrapati was the main person, who exposed him. He was the owner of an evening daily named Poora Sacha in Sirsa, Haryana. He was the first journalist to publish the anonyms letters of the victim, where she accused Ram Rahim of rape charges. Two motor cyclists shot him dead on 14th October 2002. Thankfully, the person behind it has been identified and convicted.
3. Narendra Dabholkar
Narendra Dabholkar was a very tough critic of the religious leaders, who used to spread blind following among masses. He was gunned down in Pune by two youth, who fired three rounds and fled away. This death triggered rage among the media personnel.
4. Sandeep Kothari
Sandeep Kothari was a freelance writer, who used to write for the Nayi Duniya. He was murdered in Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh. He used to write on the illegal mining and land grabbing, which was on the rise in the state.
5. Govind Pansare
Govind Pansare was a senior CPI leader, who was murdered under some mysterious circumstances in 16th February 2015. His strong views against right-wing politics had caused lots of uneasiness among them. He was gunned down in Kolhapur when he was on a morning walk with his wife. A charge sheet was filed by the SIT, which also investigated the case later.
6. Rajdev Ranjan
Rajdev Ranjan was murdered by bike borne attackers from the close range. He was a journalist for Hindustan Daily in Siwan, Bihar. His attack was extensively covered by media and it was regarded as the severe threat to the journalist community. He was mainly after Mohammad Shahabuddin, an RJD MP, who was convicted of the murder of two brothers.
7. M M Kalburgi
M M Kalburgi was murdered at his residence in Dharwad by a man in August 2015. He was the threat over the politics, who were using religion for politics. All of his research and writings ended up with his murder.
8. Jagendra Singh
Jagendra Singh was a brave journalist, who took on big minister Singh Verma in UP. He was burnt to death by his opponent. He died in Shahjahanpur, UP on 8th June 2015. He tried to battle the politics with his pen. His pen won the battle, but at a very heavy cost.
