Let me begin with congratulating you, Gurmehar. You have achieved what mango people like us can only dream of, at all of nineteen. You’ve become the voice of the kin of martyred, the poster girl of India’s student community, the ultimate symbol of feminism and a toast of the liberals of this country, all at once, with one single masterstroke. I have no words to describe the sheer brilliance of this move, kudos to you.
You had instantly become the topic of discussion at every dinner table across the country, a social media star, a celeb of sorts when the controversy was at its peak. So when someone asked me if Sewang Dada, the 7 year old son of a martyred soldier who wanted to join the army would get the same kind of attention that you got? Obviously not, I retorted back, he wants to join the forces just like his father. Why would that make him famous? You have to be a gun-toting headmaster’s son or a placard holding teenager with a myopic view of the world to become national sensation in India. He was disappointed, but nodded in agreement.
The drama that played out on national television was beyond anybody’s imagination. A grown girl was living in denial about her own father’s death. She was trying to deflect the responsibility of her father’s murder, from the very country that killed him. Though this sounded extremely bizzare, you had the right to your views, and the social media discussions started moving to the next topic.
Then we heard of a rape threat, allegedly by an ABVP member and social media erupted, again. Though, surprisingly they are the ones who eventually filed the FIR. The reasons for that are best known to you. However, your accusations ring hollow when you don’t even make a passing reference to this extremely serious issue in your blog, but since it’s your blog you can choose what to write about and what not.
Not just that, Gurmehar, you have made your intentions abundantly obvious in your latest attempt at attention seeking. You write in your blog, “I’m not your angry, vindictive war-mongering bechari you hoped me to be. I don’t want war because I know its price; it’s very expensive. Trust me, I know better because I’ve paid it everyday.”
Firstly, “Bharat ki barbadi tak Jung rahegi” IS angry war mongering, telling a 19 year old that she is living in a bubble IS NOT. You admit to having an idealistic worldview, which is what it got called out publicly, so it was harsh at best, but angry, vindictive war-mongering, nope!
Secondly, people sympathised with you because they thought you were being used by political parties to further their agenda, but you’ve made it amply clear you are an all-knowing party to it and not a bechari. So that part has long been sorted. Sorry for the initial misunderstanding.
Thirdly, war is never an option. Nobody ‘wants’ war. We are a peace loving country. But the sacrifices of men like your father would be wasted, if we let enemies bleed us with a thousand cuts. A lot many more gulguls would have missed their fathers if not for your fathers supreme sacrifice.
Don’t be our martyr’s daughter, Gurmehar. Just be a daughter. This country’s daughter.
