Lankesh was the Editor of "Lankesh Patrike" from 1980 until his death in 2000. A socialist and Lohiaite, he was known for his secular, anti-caste and anti-Hindutva views. Before starting Lankesh Patrike, he and friends Tejaswi and K.Ramadas had toured the length and breadth of Karnataka, mobilising people to vote for their new socialist party Karnataka Pragatiranga Vedike This trip, he recounted in one of his editorials, which took him to the remotest parts of Karnataka opened his eyes to the plight of the poor, the Dalits and the Muslims and made him realise his responsibility as a writer and an intellectual towards the society.