Questioning Is a Crime in India’s Right-Wing Regime

I’m seething. The murder of Gauri Lankesh in 2017 wasn’t just a killing—it was a loud, bloody message. Speak up, question the powers that be, and you’re done. Shot dead outside your own home. Gauri was a journalist, a firebrand who dared to call out the rot in India’s right-wing ecosystem. Her crime? Asking questions. Demanding accountability. Exposing the hypocrisy of Hindu nationalist groups who wrap their violence in saffron flags and call it patriotism. And for that, she was silenced.

Journalist : Gauri Lankesh

This isn’t just about Gauri. It’s about Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare, M.M. Kalburgi—all gunned down or attacked in the same chilling pattern. Rationalists, writers, thinkers who challenged the right-wing’s chokehold on India’s conscience. The same gun, the same shadowy network tied to groups like Sanatan Sanstha, the same motive: crush dissent. They found a hit list with 34 names, for God’s sake—34 more people who dared to think and speak. Is this what India has become? A country where questioning is an offence, especially if you’re pointing fingers at the right-wing government?

The BJP and its Sangh Parivar allies have created a culture of fear. Their foot soldiers—whether it’s cow vigilantes lynching Muslims or hit squads targeting intellectuals—operate with impunity. The police drag their feet, investigations stall, and the masterminds walk free. Look at Gauri’s case: years later, we’re still wading through trials while the real orchestrators laugh from the shadows. This isn’t just negligence; it’s complicity. The right-wing government doesn’t just tolerate this—it thrives on it. Silence the critics, and you control the narrative.

And it’s not just the killings. It’s the trolling, the threats, the arrests. Speak against the government, and you’re labeled anti-national. Write about caste oppression or Hindutva’s violence, and you’re a traitor. The message is clear: shut up or pay the price. India, the so-called largest democracy, is choking under this regime. The right wing doesn’t want debate; they want obedience. They don’t want questions; they want worship.

Gauri Lankesh’s murder wasn’t an isolated tragedy—it was a declaration of war on free thought. Every time we stay silent, we let them win. We let them turn India into a place where questioning is a death sentence. I’m done being quiet. Are you?