January 22, 2025

Gurmeher Kaur’s placard saying her father was not killed by Pakistan but by war was stupid. Her father was a soldier in the Indian army. He was a professional who was trained to be of use in a war situation. He had taken an oath to protect the country. He earned his living by being combat ready. If there was war and if the war was against Pakistan, obviously he was killed by Pakistan and not the war. For, there are two nations involved in a war. If Pakistan had refrained from going to war, Kaur’s dad would not have been killed. So if an Indian soldier is martyred and if his daughter harbours ill-will against the country for pushing him in a situation where he was killed, it shows that she has a sick mind. It is also demeaning to the memory of the slain martyr.

Obviously this is not to say that she does not have the right to have her say. It also does not mean that anyone, including the ABVP, can issue her any kind of threats – let alone rape threats – to keep silent. Gurmeher Kaur is a young girl whose father was killed in a war. She has gone through mental trauma. Her thinking is shaped by various threads she must have gone through since then. She must now hate what she thinks is the futility of war as never before. She must now believe in universal brotherhood and all kinds of unrealistic Leftist dogmas perpetuated by jholawalas, despite the fact that the history of the Left is full of unlimited torture and hardships inflicted on their own people even without a war like situation. This is something no one, including the administration and Rightist students unions can do anything about. Gurmeher Kaur is entitled to her view along with the complete freedom to express it.

The best way to tackle these persons is to ignore them. They have their view. A million others have other views. So let them have their few days of social media fame and then vanish in the woodwork. Just see how Kanhaiya Kumar has vanished, after being there on the front pages of all newspapers for more than a month. These people are used by some vested interests and are then consigned to the dustbin. By needling them, the ABVP and others are unnecessarily prolonging their shot at fame. Such people are T20 ‘celebrities’ and they should not be given Test match status.