Former batsman for the Indian men’s cricket team Virender Sehwag on Wednesday clarified that his earlier tweet about Delhi student Gurmerhar Kaur’s post was simply him being flippant, but that he did not want her to be targeted. “My tweet was an attempt to be facetious rather than one to bully anyone over their opinion. Agreement or disagreement wasn’t even a factor,” tweeted Sehwag.
He added, “Everyone has a right to express their views without being bullied or threatened. Gurmehar Kaur or the Phogat sisters,” and said those who threatened her with rape or violence “are the lowest form of life”.
The former cricketer’s clarification comes three days after he faced a barrage of criticism for mocking the 20-year-old daughter of a soldier who died in Kargil. “I didn’t score two triple centuries. My bat did,” read the placard on Sehwag’s post. His tweet was a response to a video Kaur had made in 2016 in which she said among other things that Pakistan did not kill her father, war did.
Cricketer Gautam Gambhir on Tuesday came out in support of Kaur, tweeting “The freedom of expression is absolute and equal for all! High time we learnt that and practised it daily in every sphere of life. Gambhir posted a video along with his tweet defending Kaur’s right to free speech.
On Tuesday evening, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor came out in support of the Lady Shri Ram College student, though he cautioned her to work on more nuanced stands in the future. In a Facebook post, Tharoor said he was disappointed to see that his “cricket hero chose to enter the wholly politicised debate over Gurmehar Kaur’s words”. Tharoor added that Sehwag’s “seemingly witty counter” to Kaur was wrong. “It trivialises a serious issue concerning war, loss, and deeply personal emotions that are felt only by those who have suffered,” he said.
The entire matter pertains to Kaur’s campaign against the right-wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad’s violence at Ramjas College in Delhi. Kaur has been at the centre of a controversy since a picture of her holding a placard against the ABVP fracas at Ramjas college went viral. Her detractors then pulled out the video from 2016 to add to the frenzy.
On Monday, Kaur had announced her decision to drop out of the #StudentsagainstABVP campaign. Her mother said she had left Delhi. The Delhi Police on Tuesday filed an FIR in connection with threats made to Kaur on social media. She had approached the authorities on Monday saying she was threatened with rape and violence.
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