Bengaluru: Friends of journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh will register a trust – Gauri Lankesh Memorial Trust on Monday. Gauri Lankesh was shot dead at her house in Raja Rajeswari Nagar in Bengaluru on September 5.
The Trust will be led by freedom fighter H.S. Doreswamy and will have linguist G.N. Devy, activist Teesta Setalvad, among others.
V.S. Sreedhara, who is part of the Trust, said that it will have 15 members. Senior journalists, including Rajdeep Sardesai, have agreed to join. It will also have an advisory board.
The Trust will have the following objectives: to support a paper that reflects the values upheld by Gauri Lankesh; award an annual national Gauri Lankesh Award to journalists or activists who are working to uphold Gauri’s values, organise a State and National level annual Gauri Lankesh lecture; and award fellowships for journalists from disadvantaged communities to study on particular topics.
A public announcement with regard to the Trust will be made at a public function on Monday evening, where a website will be launched along with a collection of poems written in memory of Gauri Lankesh.