I Am on the Hit List: A Journalist's Murder and the Rise of Autocracy in India

by Rollo Romig

A gripping investigation into the mysterious assassination of a journalist in India, revealing the courage and vulnerability of those who are fighting the decline of democracy around the world.

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.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, True Crime, Biography, Politics, India, Journalism

400 pages, Paperback

First published August 6, 2024

Reviews

[Gopal MS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Making sense of political violence and murders in India is no easy task. While all politics is inherently local, it's a complex Chowchow bath - a messy blend of village, district, state, national, and even international ripples that shape events on the ground. Perhaps that's why it took an outsider, someone from another continent, to patiently peel back the layers of this intricate story and reach the core of this particular police case.

The author seems to have interviewed hundreds of people and sifted through books, reports, police records, and FIRs to piece together a compelling narrative. Along the way, he also explores a few seemingly unrelated stories, the legend of St. Thomas, the doubting apostle, and the infamous Saravana Bhavan murder case. While these detours may feel out of place at first, they ultimately help illuminate the deeper ways in which we, as Indians, think, act, and inflict violence on each other.

What emerges is not just the unravelling of a single case (and related cases), a very balanced biography of Gauri Lankesh that is a revealing portrait of Karnataka politics over the past 50 years, the press, ideologies, allegiances, and the ever-present undercurrent of violence.

A must-read.

[Shampurna Mitra · Rating 5 out of 5]

actually incredible. this book isn’t just investigative journalism on the death of Gauri Lankesh but the intersection of that with a multi-perspective commentary on the religious and political radicalism in India. as an American immigrant, this was such a captivating, heartbreaking, and a beautiful commentary on a place that’s part of my identity but that I cannot get a day-to-day experience of. I identified with so many values that Gauri had and although heartbroken, I am appreciative to see that she has been martyred by the groups she fought for in India and her memory is symbolic for fighting for peace and doing the right thing.

[Janalyn, the blind reviewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I Am On The Hit List by Rollo Romig is about the beautiful nation of India the many different cultures, religions, languages and opinions. The book starts with a murder of a newspaper owner and a believer in freedom of speech who was gunned down at her front door on her way home from work. We also learn about their version of John Brown the abolitionist and they also have a monk who could be our Trump if Trump has his way there’s also India’s vegetarian version of McDonald’s in the man who started it who was also found guilty for murder and OMG if that story isn’t crazy and much much more. From the history of Banglor from the colonial days until now. There’s so much in the book and most of it is also interesting. I did find myself wishing I could skip some chapters but the book was so good I was afraid I would miss something. It talks about religious cults in India how Muslims and Hindus and Christians live together along with agnostics an atheist just a great great read. I think the author did an awesome job writing the multifaceted story and it’s definitely something any history fan would love. I am always fascinated when I find out those I thought were different aren’t that much different at all. In the end we’re all just people who basically want for us and our families to be happy and safe.#NetGalley, #PenguinBooks, #RaloRomig, #IAmOnTheHitList,

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was some terrific reporting, giving a great sense of all the major personalities, as well as the larger problems with the Indian state and its slide into political madness.

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly dense and detailed examination of the assassination of Indian journalist Gauri Lankesh. The author takes great care to explain so many back-story elements of Indian culture that shape this story: history, religion, language, politics, mythology, celebrity, food, the police and legal systems… It was an amazing primer to the current situation in India. Sadly this story mirrors the recent slide towards autocracy and rabidly frightening nationalism that are consuming Indian politics and that place a cold chill on the voices of journalism.

[Vivek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal! This reminded me, in all the best ways, of Lawrence Wright’s “The Looming Tower,” but with more heart and relevance. Journalist Rollo Romig, a white American married to a South Indian Muslim, investigates the 2017 murder of local journalist Gauri Lankesh in Bangalore. The book is a loving, but not hagiographic, portrait of Lankesh, as well as a deep dive into the forces that animated her life and ultimately led to her execution.

Here Romig provides an excellent introduction to many of the complexities of South India, and Karnataka in particular. He shows us the chilling rise of Hindutva (Hindu supremacy, an ideology akin to white supremacy) and the many ways its adherents operate, but also introduced me to a lot of inspiring South Indian activists, contemporary and historical. The book is suspenseful and totally engrossing (I finished the second half, about 200 pages, in two days) but also surprisingly tender.

This was the perfect book for me to read on my first trip back to Bangalore in ten years, and as someone working to learn more about India and the rise of Hindutva. I also so appreciated the way it delves into the Kannada literary tradition, as someone who grew up speaking the regional South Indian language but is trying to relearn it. I was initially wary of this story being told by an American, but Romig approaches his work with humility, self-awareness, and care that dispelled those concerns almost as soon as I started reading this. I cannot recommend this book highly enough to anyone looking to learn more about India today: it is both very accessible and thorough, in a way that is impressive for its size (less than 400 pages).

[Ranjani Sheshadri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This case has stayed with me ever since I first heard about it. I thought it was so brazen, so authoritarian that a female journalist could be killed in the open in Bangalore of all places (a year before I flew there for the first time in 9 years) and not be an outrage that would unseat a right-wing regime (but here in 2025, I know I was naive). The book weaves a slow path in parts through religious philosophy, like the chapter on Lingayats, which I think is secondary to who Gauri was and really only underscores her family's iconoclastic nature. But I really appreciated hearing the history of Bangalore, of Kannada and Tamil culture (including the bits of Kannada language woven throughout, which I shared with my parents because it's so rare to see South Indian languages represented in any meaningful way), of Saravana Bhavan (a South Indian institution, in spite of the controversy!), and the detailed analysis of how rightwing ideology has completely upended India, to the point where Gandhi's killer has been almost entirely vindicated. I don't know how India can ever return to its secular democratic roots when power and corruption and Islamophobia dictate who lives and who dies, and anything but pure allegiance to Hindutva can put a target on your head.

[Siddhartha · Rating 5 out of 5]

5th Sep 2024 marks seven years of the assassination of Gauri Lankesh, an outspoken journalist and critic of right-wing nationalism shot outside her home in Bangalore, India.

Published last month by Penguin Random House, “I am on the Hit List” is a gripping investigation by Rollo Romig, an American journalist, who has been reporting from India for more than a decade. This book is not just an astute analysis of the case, which appears to be linked to the murders of other outspoken Indian writers, but also takes stock of the shadowy religious groups and the current cycle of polarization in India.

Some extra brownie points from me to the book for explaining the concept of Lingayat question in easy to comprehend way, which even after spending two decades in Karnataka, I had never understood until now.

[Alayna T · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such an interesting read. I found all of the tangential stories and history to enhance the main story about Lankesh. India is a country that I do not know much about outside of their British Rule. This book was a great introduction to the current political climate over there, particularly in South India. This made me want to learn more about what’s going on; the Hindutva movement mirrors a lot of the far and alt-right with Christian Nationalism. I listened to the audiobook and Romig was a good narrator as well!

[David Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

American journalist and essayist Rollo Romig’s gripping finalist for the 2025 Pulitzer Prizes exploring the assassination of Indian activist and journalist Gauri Lankesh in Bangalore, India in 2017. Lankesh emerges in the late 1990’s from under the shadow of the literary royalty of her garish poet-journalist father P. Lankesh, assuming editorship of his South Indian weekly ‘Lankesh Patrike’ upon his death and mixing its gossipy, often profane, incendiary, and (as Romig’s prose describes it) utterly delicious vernacular tabloid-style reporting with her own brand of scrappy feminism and social justice. Despite the seemingly honest picture of Bangalore as a thriving, globally integrated IT hub (which it is), behind the veneer of coffee shops, booksellers, and Wi-Fi cafes lies of complex underbelly of political and religious fanatics, organized crime, corrupt politicians, and miffed Hindu machismo, one or all of which Lankesh managed to pi$$ off with her words, or a late loan payment, or whatever, eventually leading to her murder. Though not officially (i.e. judicially) proven, Romig (holding no bias back from the reader) contextualizes Lankesh’s assassination as yet another decibel in larger alarm he wants to help sound about the erosion of Indian democratic pluralism under the right-wing Hindutva nationalism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) (2014-present), a pluralism he feels allowed ‘Lankesh Patrike’ (and Lankesh herself) to function in the first place, and a rising nationalist autocracy he feels fueled the lawless forces that directly underwrote her death. Most people, South Asian or elsewhere, are settled in their political views in 2025 I feel, but regardless of partisan stripe Romig writes of true crime and penetrating, smoky, debt, sex, and drug-ridden back-alley cultural analysis in 2017 Bangalore the way one might envision 1980’s Hong Kong or Shanghai. Verdict: I’m guilty of enjoying this one, and I think the late Lankeshes would forgive me for that.

[Ash · Rating 5 out of 5]

i am on the hit list is one of the best pieces of journalism i’ve read.

granted, that’s not a very high bar simply due to the embarrassingly low amount of nonfiction that i consume. but others seem to agree with me, so i feel comfortable making that statement.

i was very skeptical at first. white american man with indian wife writes about the rise of authoritarianism in india. the number of pit falls are countless. but unlike with cobalt red, the pulitzer prize committee were actually literate for this one. centered around the murder of a journalist, it has all the thrill and suspense of a true crime investigation, but so, so much more than that. to contextualize the significance of one murder, he delves into south indian politics and religion and journalism and language and leftist activism with an admirable amount of nuance and respect. and that’s the thing that sets this apart from cobalt red and other bad pieces of journalism, he respects his subjects. romig seems to love the country he married into. the book is as much a celebration of india’s people and culture and complexity as it is an indictment of its rising authoritarianism. as white and american as he is, romig manages the miraculous feat of neither demonizing, nor exoticizing, the east. what stood out to me most was the fact that romig himself has such a objective, self-critical, “consider all perspectives” approach to journalism, yet he acknowledges and deeply respects the often unprofessional sensationalism that gauri employs in the context of her activism and ever shrinking freedom of press.

he ends with the poem it’s also fine by mourid barghouti, and i think about it a lot.

(also small thing he always takes care to recontextualize names and acronyms even if they’ve appeared before which THANK YOU it makes reading so much fucking easier, even if it’s the result of him writing on a foreign country for a western audience. i wish white people writing about other white people in a white country would do this as well because i don’t fucking care if your name is john i’m not remembering that any better than srinivasaraju)

[girlbot · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING BOOK!!!!!! allow me to put on my white mansplainer eat pray luv hat here: i learned so much about india. i learned so much about radicalization. i learned so much about religious conflict in india! this book sort of starts off as an in cold blood style new journalism investigation of the central crime. but from there, the social commentary blossoms into a discussion of history, of crime, of politics, of faith, of colonialism, of literature, of regionality, etc etc. pull one thread that seems to blend seamlessly into the vibrant tapestry of modern india and hold it to the light and see all the crazy silly random stories that illuminate it. the more i like it the vaguer i gotta be cause i can't even pick out what i like the most : )

woke interlude: definitely i luv to read books about topics that are off the beaten path of western canon. there are a lot of stories in this book that are truth-is-stranger-than-fiction vibes to me in my limited viewpoint and it's so funny that a book so matter of factly uninterested in mythicization and dedicated to interrogating overzealous meaning-making has so inspired a fascination bordering on orientalism in me. that said im sure there are say, super salacious and well-connected, well written, case-study turned thematic explanations of european history floating out there, since i already know the shapes of the waves in that ocean they don't really titillate me as much. so yeah my unwokeness and how new and juicy everything in this book are super related, and unfortunatley i probably wouldn't have enjoyed it as much if i knew more about the topic and were more woke.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite it being one of the largest countries in the world, I know very little about India. I knew Britain treated it like garbage for centuries and that, thanks in part to Gandhi, it won its freedom in 1947. I knew that there are tensions between Hindus and Muslims. I knew that Modi was a wannabe strongman.

That was the extent of it. And this book, examining India’s past and presence through the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh as well as the southern city of Bangalore was enlightening. Rollo Romig is a good writer and he knows what details are important to the narrative while keeping the minutiae sidelined.

I learned about the varieties on language and culture, how different the south is from the north, how faith works there and journalism. I learned how Bangalore went from a peaceful backwater to a traffic-choked urban nightmare but that the longtime residents were docile and kind. Having had a professor in grad school from Bangalore who was an absolute prince of a guy, I can at least confirm that part of their reputation.

The book is weirdly structured and sometimes attempts to bite off more than it can chew but learning about Gauri Lankesh’s world and India writ large was a real treat. And when Romig focuses on those topics in particular, he’s an excellent journalist.

[Ula Tardigrade · Rating 5 out of 5]

The profession of a reporter involves real risks. According to the international organization Committee to Protect Journalism, nearly 1,600 journalists were killed worldwide between 1992 and 2024 - this is only referring to cases in which individuals were confirmed to have died in connection with their profession. There are, unfortunately, areas of the world where murders of journalists are a grim daily occurrence. The best known example is Mexico, while fewer people may be aware that a similar situation exists in the “world's largest democracy” – India.

The author of this book, trying to discover the truth about the murder of local, brave activist journalist Gauri Lankesh, paints an extremely grim picture of contemporary India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I was aware of this situation from reading the news, but for me it is the first book that dives deeper and delivers a nuanced story about this very complicated country.

Thanks to the publisher, Penguin Books, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

[mol · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars, finished
as someone with a degree in international relations, i know embarrassingly little about the the global south (due in small part to my university placing less emphasis on it in relation to greater global powers). i spotted this book in my local library and picked it up because i recognized the name of bangalore/bangaluru, and was unprepared for the incredibly well written exploration into indian politics that i was greeted with. romig does an excellent job of defining unfamiliar terms, explaining political and social relations, and paying homage to the legacy of such an incredible and influential woman as gauri lankesh.

[Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting exploration of the violent suppression of non-mainstream ideologies and the emergence of authoritarian religious nationalism in modern day India. When the state allows violence against the press and its opposition to exist without equal justice for the victims, authoritarianism is in the works, and much more severe violence becomes a possibility. This book also highlights to importance of honest, personal, and impassioned journalism and the fierce buffer that it creates against ideologues. The side-stories were as super interesting and entertaining, but told microcosmic versions of the grander story.

[Anirudh Mukundan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic look into a public figure whose influence and importance I wasn’t too aware of until reading this book. I remember reading about Gauri’s murder when it occurred but didn’t pay too much attention to it back then. Only now do I appreciate how pivotal a role she played in Karnataka politics and the role of local journalists and activists, who can so often fly under the radar. I learned quite a bit about the history of Karnataka and Bangalore and am looking forward to checking out some of the many bookstores mentioned in the book!

[Kathleen W. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only gave this two stars because it was so very hard to understand in English. It probably is because none of the names and most of the references are totally unfamiliar to an American without Indian ancestry. It might be a great story for people who understand the political and religious references. I have read a number of biographies and fiction books by people from India and enjoyed and understood them. This one I can't connect with.

If you understand the languages, cultures, politics and history of India you might enjoy this book.

[LeeAnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a hard book to read, but so so important.

I’m also not normally a fan of authors as narrators, but this audio was fantastic.

Romig deftly explains the cultural and historical context of Gauri’s India to a less-familiar audience, while using his investigation of her murder to discuss India’s current slide away from democracy and towards further religious persecution and genocidal rhetoric. The last few chapters about the atrocities being committed against Muslims in India right now were gutting.

Stunning and devastating.

[Satwik · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book goes beyond the murder mystery of Gauri Lankesh, offering a thought-provoking exploration of politics of Bangalore, Karnataka, and India as a whole. It sheds light on the challenges within the Indian judiciary and policing, while tackling complex issues like Naxalism and right-wing extremism. The book presents a nuanced and often uncomfortable portrayal of reality, leaving readers with concerns and reflections on the state of our society.

[Amber Haumschild · Rating 4 out of 5]

While deftly looking into the assassination of Gauri Lankesh. Romig explores the political climate in India and how that affects their media. Giving the reader valuable insight into not only the assassinations that are taking place but also about the political turmoil occurring in India. I personally knew little about the caste system and how Muslim Indians are treated, and their both giving me more topics to look into.

[Anthony Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took a while to get into but an engaging / depressing take of the ease to which extremism groups can morph the perspective of society. A messy story as things like this are but Rullo does an excellent job and so many chapters framing the context in such a way to showcase the significance of the last 15 years.

[Benson Killpack · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-written and thoroughly researched look into the complexity and unfathomable diversity of Indian society. Despite the vast differences between American and Indian society and politics, it he rise of autocracy takes the same path nonetheless.

[M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a good read.

[Deepak Dewan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did not find as I had expected about the incident. But found lots of interesting tid-bids about Bangalore and Karnataka state.

[NICO · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.3

[Aarohi · Rating 5 out of 5]

lagged in the middle a little I thought but so good

[Fiona]

This book requires more familiarity with India’s political system and history than I currently possess. Might revisit cause it’s well-written.

[Indu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend

[Siddarth Selvaraj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding. A slice of modern Bangalore and India beautifully and authentically captured.