Ramjas college violence: Social media campaign against ABVP goes viral

Over 20 students were reportedly injured in the ensuing scuffle at DU's north campus on Wednesday

Days after a scuffle broke between the ABVP and a group of protesting students of JNU at the Delhi University's north campus on Wednesday, a social media campaign criticising the ABVP for spreading violence in the university campus became popular.

The campaign was started by a 20-year-old Gurmehar Kaur, who is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree from Lady Shri Ram Collge for Women in south Delhi.

In the post, Kaur is seen holding a placard that states:  "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". A message was posted along with the picture crticising the violence that erupted in DU's north campus on Wednesday.

In a brief post on Facebook, Gurmehar said: "The brutal attack on innocent students by ABVP is very disturbing and should be stopped. It was not an attack on protestors, but an attack on every notion of democracy that is held dear in ever Indian's heart. It is an attack on ideals, morals, freedom and rights of every person born to this nation."

She further urged others to take a similar picture and post it as their profile picture. Running under #StudentsAgainstABVP, she asked students to join her campaign to express solidarity with a joint fight against the "tyranny of fear" in the university. 

Voices supporting her campaign came soon. However, there were some who were displeased with her and even hurled abuses on the social media platform. In one tweet, she was criticised for betraying her father Captain Mandeep Singh, who had died during the 1999 Kargil War. Popular television news anchor Manak Gupta also posted a tweet criticising Kaur

Twitter

Over 20 students were reportedly injured in the ensuing scuffle and many students were detained later. The incident has led many to raise concerns about the issue safety in campus premises.