A BRAVE GIRL - Who is Gurmehar Kaur?

Gurmehar Kaur has reportedly left Delhi for the time being, after allegedly receiving threats of rape and murder.

Twenty-year-old Gurmehar Kaur has been in the spotlight over the last few days, after raising her voice against violence on campuses in the wake of clashes in Ramjas College Delhi last week. Kaur has been advocating peace — from endorsing stronger Indo-Pak ties to free speech among youth — for nearly a year now.

Gurmehar Kaur launched a #ProfileForPeace campaign last April, advocating peace between India and Pakistan. “If there was no war between us, my father would still be here,” she had said.

Twenty-year-old Gurmehar Kaur.

In her viral video, Gurmehar asked both governments to “stop pretending” and “solve the problem”. She said, “I am questioning the caliber of leadership of both nations; we cannot dream of becoming a first world country with third world leadership.”

Gurmehar Kaur was born to Rajvinder Kaur and Captain Mandeep Singh in Jalandhar. She lost her father at the age of two, after a Rashtriya Rifles camp came under militant attack in Jammu and Kashmir in 1999. He was one of the seven personnel killed in the attack. Kaur resides in Delhi, where she is studying English Literature at Lady Sri Ram College for Women, Delhi University. She is also the ambassador for Postcards for Peace, a charitable organisation that helps eliminate any form of discrimination.

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Kaur’s campaign has taken a political turn, after various leaders commented on her campaign. Key among those is Union Minister of State for Home Affairs of India Kiren Rijiju who quipped: “Who’s polluting this young girl’s mind?” “freedom of expression is not a license to shout anti-national slogans in campuses. Criticise the government but don’t abuse the motherland” and that “Kargil war must not be exploited.” He posted a picture collage on Twitter with Kaur on one side and Ibrahim on the other side.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi praised Kaur for raising her voice against intolerance and said that for every voice suppressed, there will be a Gurmehar Kaur.

Kaur, however, announced early Tuesday morning that she is withdrawing from the campaign as she’s ‘gone through enough’. She tweeted, “I’m withdrawing from the campaign. Congratulations everyone. I request to be left alone. I said what I had to say.. I have been through a lot and this is all my 20 year self could take :)”. She urged students to go to the protest march taking place today at Khalsa College in large numbers.

She has reportedly left Delhi for the time being, after allegedly receiving threats of rape and murder. For every voice raised in anger, intolerance and ignorance there will be a Gurmehar Kaur”.

Source: The Indian Express

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