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

FINALIST FOR THE PULITZER PRIZE

"A murder mystery, travelogue, and deeply felt homage to Romig's adopted country. Reading it will inform and outrage you. (It will also make you crave a dosa)."—Suketu Mehta, author of Maximum City

“Romig makes for a powerful, effective chronicler of this bleak moment in Indian politics.”—The New York Times

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.

Born and raised in Detroit, Rollo Romig is the author of Pulitzer Prize finalist I Am on the Hit List and a journalist, essayist, and critic. He has been reporting on South India since 2013, most often for The New York Times Magazine.