Asianet NewsableAsianet Newsable

Dear Rijiju, if a young girl has an opinion, does that mean her mind is polluted?

  • Gurmehar Kaur, the daughter of Kargil martyr Captain Mandeep Singh, condemned the ABVP and all war.
  • Immediately various users on Twitter have attacked Kaur, even, allegedly, giving her rape threats.
  • The latest to join this bandwagon is Union Minister for Home Affair, Kiren Rijiju.
No respect BJP MP Union Minister questions mind of martyrs daughter

It would seem the party that claims to be soldiers and women about all else is having certain issues with both - again. Ever since Gurmehar Kaur, the daughter of Kargil martyr Captain Mandeep Singh, put up her picture condemning the ABVP, all semblance of respect for women or respect for Indian soldiers seems to have been tossed out of the window. 


While various users on Twitter have already attacked Kaur, even, allegedly, giving her rape threats, perhaps what should be most unsettling is the series of extremely high profile men who both attack Kaur and in a bizarre manner, belittle her ideology. 


The latest to join this bandwagon is Union Minister for Home Affair, Kiren Rijiju. He tweeted - 


"Who's polluting this young girl's mind? A strong Arm Force prevents a war. India never attacked anyone, but a weak India was always invaded."


Interestingly, it is difficult to unpack the honourable minister's statement. The minister is referring to an older video by Kaur, in which she claimed: "Pakistan did not kill my father, war did". The video, which goes to as an anti-war piece, does not actually specify who invaded whom or who is stronger. It does ask for an end to the conflict, though. 


This idea that somehow Kaur is a 'young girl' who does not know what she says is pervasive it would seem. Virender Sehwag mocked her with the joke - "I didn't hit triple centuries, my bat did'. This 'joke' was supported by Randeep Hooda, who apparently found the joke hilarious. 


Despite being given a scolding by several notable voices, including Shekar Gupta and Barkha Dutt, Randeep Hooda stuck to his guns and felt the joke was funny. On the other hand, BJP MP from Mysuru, Pratap Simha went one step further than all. He shared a joke in which he said - 


"At least Dawood did not use the crutches of his father's name to justify his anti-national stand". Again, this tweet is also hard to unpack, thanks to its assumption that what Kaur was doing was inherently anti-national. 


Whatever happened to respecting soldiers and women? 


Lady Sri Ram Ram College student Gurmehar Kaur, daughter of Kargil martyr Captain Mandeep Singh, said she had attracted a barrage of hate messages over her stand on the issue.


"I have been getting a lot of threats on social media. I think it is very scary when people threaten you with violence or with rape," she told NDTV. Issuing rape threats "in the name of nationalism" is not right, she added. Her comments received widespread support, including from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

 

"Just listen to this. THIS is BJP. They will destroy our country. Everyone must rise against their goondaism," he tweeted while sharing her statement.

 

After the North Campus clash, Kaur had changed her Facebook profile picture holding a placard which read "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".

Follow Us:
Download App:
  • android
  • ios