Most of us have an opinion about Delhi University student Gurmehar Kaur - for some she is a traitor, some call her a misguided child, some view her as a political pawn and yet others think of her as a brave young woman who speaks from the courage of her own convictions. The fact that she is the daughter of a Kargil martyr also caught the public imagination and her story went viral. Read a few facts about the newly famous Gurmehar Kaur and the circumstances surrounding the current controversy involving her; then make up your own mind about what you want to call her.
Following the violence on the campus of Ramjas College, Delhi University she put up a Facebook post with herself holding up a placard which said this: “I AM A STUDENT FROM DELHI UNIVERSITY. I AM NOT AFRAID OF ABVP. I AM NOT ALONE. EVERY STUDENT OF INDIA IS WITH ME #StudentsAgainstABVP.” This found an echo all over the country and students from various colleges and universities supported the hashtag with their own pictures, holding up similar placards. The hashtag went viral.
In a completely unrelated incident, Gurmehar Kaur had made a video with an anti-war message back in April 2016. As you can see, this is a 4 minute + video where she sends out a silent message via dozens of handheld placards. Her anti-war message did not cause much of a stir then; even now, this video has just a few hundred views, because only a few people know about it and even fewer have bothered to watch it.
It is possible that the #StudentsAgainstABVP hastag gaining traction made many uncomfortable, so this video was dug up and one frame from a four minute plus video was quoted out of context and falsely attributed to the present campaign.
Remember this is quite unrelated to the #StudentsAgainstABVP campaign (except for those with an agenda). In any case, her message was for peace, not against the nation, but is anyone listening?
It did not help that celebrities such as, Virendra Sehwag decided to mock her by saying what he did and that actors such as, Randeep Hooda joined the tittering. This unfortunate trivializing of her campaign and infantilizing of a young woman’s dearly held beliefs emboldened others to mock and deride too.
As an aside, I would like to ask Virender Sehwag – you think you could have scored your fabled triple ton if I had taken the bat out of your hand?
Online trolls, hiding behind apps, aliases and anonymity unleashed vicious attacks on Gurmerah. She was threatened with death, rape and other unimaginable consequences. It did not help that prominent ministers spoke against Gurmehar, one saying that her “mind is polluted” another likening her to a terrorist. She was forced to issue this statement. This was a failure for all of us who failed to protect the rights and safety of this undeniably courageous young woman.
A military veteran’s association came out in support of Gurmehar. Punjab State Ex-Servicemen Welfare Association (SEWA) and the organisation's president, Colonel Kuldip Singh Grewal said that they would ensure the lodging of a formal complaint against those threatening Gurmehar and also said that she deserved to be heard. Manjit Singh GK, President of the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Committee also pledged support and security for Gurmehar.
I am a proud Fauji Wife and mother to two Fauji kids. I hope that my husband never, ever has to go to war. Must I be hounded for my view? I hope that when my two daughters go to college, they are never threatened, abused, intimated and hounded for any of their views, as Gurmehar’s peaceful, antiwar message was. Am I wrong?
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