Author G Rajashekhar, a voice against communalism, dies at 75

Progressive writer, intellectual and human rights activist from Udupi, G Rajashekhar,  passed away at the age of 76 in Bengaluru on Wednesday, July 20. He had been battling a rare neurological condition called Progressive Supra-Nuclear Palsy (PSP or Atypical Parkinson's) for the past three years. His book, ‘Bahuvachana Bharatha’ (plural India), won the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award in 2017. However, he joined other writers of the time and declined the award citing the growing communal violence in the country.

A trenchant critic of Hindutva, Rajashekhar was born in 1946 in the village of Gundmi in Udupi district of coastal Karnataka, considered the southern heartland of the Sangh Parivar. It is from here that he fought a lifelong battle against religious fundamentalism because of which he was often the target of powerful right-wing groups.

Rajashekhar was part of the group of activists who founded Karnataka's first major coalition against right-wing Hindutva: the Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike or Communal Harmony Forum in the early 2000s. Other prominent members of the forum included the late firebrand journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh as well as Nagari Babaiah, KL Ashok and Pattabhirama Somayyaji.

Along with his close friend and comrade K Phaniraj, Rajashekhar compiled some of the first detailed fact-finding reports of atrocities committed by Hindutva extremists in Coastal Karnataka. The two friends were initially associated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) but broke away in the late 1990s because they felt that the party was not focussing enough energy to fight the growth of right-wing forces.

Starting with the 1998 Surathkal riots, Rajshekhar and Phaniraj documented several incidents of sectarian violence that pockmarked the timeline of the coast, including the March 2005 case where a Muslim cattle trader and his son were paraded naked in Udupi. These documents are a much sought-after resource for journalists and researchers studying the rise of Hindutva in Karnataka.

Journalist and author Naveen Soorije told The NewsMinute, "Back in the 2000s, there were only a handful of people who spoke up against the attack on Muslims and Dalits, one among them was G Rajashekhar. There were times only four people would show up at the protests against the Sangh Parivar, Rajashekhar without any hesitancy would march ahead"

"The Communist organisations in 2000s only spoke about the economy, it was G Rajashekhar who threw light on the issue of communalism among the communist organisations," he added.

In recognition of his fight against communalism, Rajashekhar was awarded with the ‘Manava Ratna’ in 2020-2021, by the Muslim Okkuta in Udupi. Apart from his work in the coast, he was also deeply involved in mobilising secular groups against the Sangh Parivar over the BabaBudangiri shrine dispute in Chikkamagaluru.

His sons, journalist G Vishnu and engineer-artist Raghunandan, wrote in a message,  “Our father lived an extraordinary life. He possessed a stunning intellect that was evident even during his last days. His life was marked by great courage. He always stood up for what is right. Most importantly, he was an incredibly kind and sensitive human being.”

Siddaramaiah, former chief minister of Karnataka and the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, tweeted that Rajashekhar's passing “was a tremendous loss for everyone. He was a renowned Kannada critic and a deep thinker, Siddaramaiah said.