International Union of Left Publishers
On February 16, 2015, Govind Pansare and Uma Pansare went for a morning walk. Men on a motorbike stopped near them, shot them, and fled. Govind Pansare died four days later, on February 20; Uma Pansare survived, but continues to suffer from the attack. Govind Pansare was a communist, whose book – Who Was Shivaji? (New Delhi: LeftWord Books) – rankled the right-wing which did not agree with his factual presentation of the life of this 17th century icon.
Who killed Govind Pansare, author and communist? The police in the state of Maharashtra have not been able to solve this case. Seven years have gone by and yet the police have not gathered hard facts, which makes a prosecution unlikely. Pansare’s assassination came alongside the murder of several other key writers, many of them rationalists and secularists, such as Dr. Narendra Dabholkar (20 August 2013), M.M. Kalburgi (30 August 2015), and Gauri Lankesh (5 September 2017). Facts established in several of such cases show that the right-wing conspirators are associated with the Sanathan Sanstha, a Hindu terrorist group, and other such organizations.
The entire world is witness to the rising trend of hate crimes in India and crimes against Indian culture (including the murder of writers).
We, the International Union of Left Publishers, stand in solidarity with the families of the victims and we raise our voice in defence of the progressive and humane values of secularism, social progress, and social justice.
We appeal to the authorities in Maharashtra to identify, apprehend, and bring to book all those involved in the murder of Govind Pansare.
1. Amelia Kraigher, Založba /*cf., Slovenia
2. Ana Maldonado, Estrella Roja-Frente Francisco de Miranda, Venezuela
3. Aniruddha, National Book Agency, Kolkata, India
4. Booker Ngesa Omole, The Communist Party of Kenya
5. Carlos Manuel Duque, Fundarte, Venezuela
6. Carlos Ron, Simon Bolivar Institute, Venezuela
7. Celina della Croce, Tricontinental, Anti-Imperialist Action Committee
8. Cristiano Armati, Red Star Press, Italy
9. Efemia Chela, Inkani Books, Johannesburg, South Africa
10. Enamul Haque, Member, Poli Bureau, Workers Party of Bangladesh
11. Fernando Vicente Pietro, Batalla de Ideas, Argentina
12. Francisco Vértiz, Batalla de Ideas, Argentina
13. Hayri Erdoğan, Yordam Kitap, İstanbul, Turkey
14. Jang Won, Secondthesis, Seongnam, South Korea
15. K Lakshmaiah, Prajasakthi Publishing House, Andhra Pradesh, India
16. K Sivakumar, Chintha Publishers, Trivandrum, Kerala
17. K.S.Ranjith, Chintha Publishers, Trivandrum, Kerala
18. Koya Chandra Mohan, Nava Telangana Publishing House, Telangana, India
19. Layan Fuleihan, 1804 Books, United States
20. Manu Karuka, 1804 Books, United States
21. Miguel Yoshida, Expressão Popular, Brasil
22. Ovidiu Tichindeleanu, IDEA Cluj, Romania
23. Pablo Abufom, Editorial Proyección, Chile.
24. PK Rajan, Bharathi Puthakalayam, Tamilnadu, India
25. Purbasha Sarkar, LeftWord Books, New Delhi, India
26. Qalandar Bux Memon, Naked Punch Press, Pakistan
27. Ronny Agustinus, Marjin Kiri, Indonesia
28. Sanjay Kundan, Vam Prakashan, New Delhi, India
29. Shiraz Durrani, Vita Books, Nairobi, Kenya
30. Simón Vázquez, Bellaterra edicions / KULT, Spain
31. Sudhanva Deshpande, LeftWord Books, India
32. Thomas Blommaert, Uitgeverij EPO, Belgium
33. Tony Pecinovsky, International Publishers, USA
34. Uday Narkar, Janashakti Publications, Maharashtra, India
35. Vasanth, Kriya Madhyama, Karnataka, India
36. Venkat Rao, Prajasakthi Publishing House, India
37. Vijay Prashad, LeftWord Books, India
38. Vijaya Rao Gudipudi, Nava Telangana Publishing House, India
39. Walter Bgoya, Mkuki na Nyota Publishers, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
40. Winnie Chauhan, LeftWord Books, India
