HUBBALLI: With investigations into the murder of Kannada scholar M M Kalburgi making no headway yet, writers and activists from across the country have decided to launch a day-and-night protest in Gadag on August 29, the eve of the second anniversary of the killing.The protesters have come under the banner, Dr Kalburgi, Pansare, Dabholkar Hatya Virodhi Samiti, and will hold protests in different towns of north Karnataka.Samiti convener Professor DB Gawani said, "As many as 4,000 people, including students from 26 colleges of Gadag and Betgeri, are participating in the rally. It will convert into a public meeting at Gandhi Circle, where the day-and-night dharna is planned. About 300 writers and activists - K Neela, Shivaganga Rumma, Vitthappa Gorantli, T R Chandrashekhar and Bharadwaj, among others - will take part," he said.Folklore teams Arunodaya Kala Tanda, Jenugudu Kala Tanda and Dalit Kala Mandali will play drums and sing revolutionary songs. Ramachandra Hansanur, an organizer, said they will stage dharnas in Gadag on the 15th and 30th of every month until the killers are nabbed. As many as 38 organizations of Dalits, farmers, students, cultural and social causes have decided to intensify the protest," he added.Arjun Golasangi, state president, Dalit Sahitya Parishat, said: "It's the government's duty to protect the lives of scholars. Our governments haven't taken the killings of thinkers and scholars seriously. That's why the murder cases of Govind Pansare (killed in February 2015) and Narendra Dabholkar (August 2013) have remained unresolved. If governments continue to keep silent on these cases, then there will be no freedom of expression."Basavaraj Sulibhavi, another organizer, said protests will be held in Haveri, Yadgir, Kalaburagi, Shahapur on August 30, and a protest meeting in Dharwad on August 30.

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