Gurmehar Kaur, a Lady Sri Ram College student and daughter of a Kargil martyr, started social media campaign 'I am not scared of ABVP' following the violent clashes that took place in Delhi University's North Campus on February 21 over the cancellation of a seminar where JNU student Umar Khalid was invited to speak. The Facebook post has now gone viral with over 1,700 reactions, nearly 2,300 shares and more than 300 comments.
Kaur, who is the daughter of Kargil martyr captain Mandeep Singh, posted the message along with a picture of her holding a placard which says: "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."
The post on Facebook read: "The brutal attack on innocent students by ABVP is very disturbing and should be stopped. It was not an attack on protesters, but an attack on every notion of democracy that is held dear in every Indian's heart. It is an attack on ideals, morals, freedom and rights of every person born to this nation. The stones that you pelt hit our bodies, but fail to bruise our ideas. This profile picture is my way of protesting against the tyranny of fear."
Kaur had appealed to 'every student of India' to unite against the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP): "If you are a student in any Indian university, in any Indian state and you wish to protest against ABVP then take a similar selfie and make it your profile picture. Use the hashtag #StudentsAgainstABVP and copy paste this message along with it. It's time for every student of India to unite! Jai Hind! Jai Democracy!"
Support for the campaign started pouring in soon after the message was posted on Facebook. Several students, including Kaur's classmates, from across India have shared the post and changed their profile pictures holding the same placard since the post went viral. However, many have hurled abuses at her and also called her an anti-national.
The English department and Literary Society of the Ramjas College had organised a two-day seminar on 'Cultures of Protest: A Seminar Exploring Representations of Dissent' on February 21, and JNU students Khalid and Shehla Rashid were invited as guest speakers. The invitation irked ABVP supporters and they resorted to violent protests against holding the seminar and reportedly locked down the seminar room in the college campus.
The college authorities cancelled the seminar following the protests. The move angered a section of students and teachers of the college, who along with a few JNU students and supporters of All India Students' Association (AISA), decided to march till the Maurice Nagar police station demanding action against the ABVP-led 'vandalism.'
