Islamabad: The new book of American journalist Rollo Romig titled 'I Am on the Hit List: A Journalist's Murder and the Rise of Autocracy in India' has been published.
According to Rollo Romig the extremist ideologies are on the rise in United States like India.
Rollo Romig wrote that when Gauri Lankesh, an outspoken journalist in the South Indian city of Bangalore, was assassinated in September 2017 outside her home, it wasn't just a loss to her close-knit community of writers and activists-the shock reverberated nationwide, making headlines and sparking mass protests. Why was she targeted, and who was behind it? Following the case to its stunning, unsettling conclusion, Rollo Romig uncovers a world of political extremists, fearless writers, organized crime, and shadowy religious groups. I Am on the Hit List is an epic narrative that moves between a historic booksellers' district and brand-new high rises funded by IT wealth, to a secretive ashram in Goa and the kitchens of an international vegetarian restaurant chain, boldly interrogating whether we can break the cycle of polarization and bloodshed inspiring political murder across the globe.
In September 2017, Gauri Lankesh, a self-described 'activist-journalist,' was killed at her home in Bangalore. Her assassination sparked protests and drew international attention to India's rising culture of intolerance. Following years of reporting on southern India for the New Yorker and New York Times Magazine, Romig uses the story of Lankesh's life and work, her murder and its investigation, to track India's risky path from the 'world's largest democracy,' known for its religious plurality, toward the autocracy spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Covering a vast and diverse country, with centuries of relevant mythology and history, the author impressively synthesizes the various narrative threads that not only comprise Lankesh's story, but also cast an urgent warning about India's trajectory. This is an ambitious project, and it can be challenging to track both time and characters over the course of the text. Lankesh's murder case alone spanned more than five years and involved a multitude of co- conspirators and investigators. Romig considers the backstories for each possible motive and provides useful details on her subject's family and the radicalized factions determined to define India as a Hindu state. Each time the narrative twists and turns between past and present, with militant groups, former colleagues, and acts of corruption and inefficiency beginning to bleed together, Romig smoothly, steadily reminds readers of the enormity of what is at stake. With religious discrimination and formerly fringe activists gaining notoriety and momentum, the compelling, sometimes chilling, text serves as a powerful vehicle for exploring India's precarious position; questioning the role of religion and other institutions; and promoting the possibility for exemplary multicultural nationhood even as current events challenge such optimism.