Virender Sehwag and Randeep Hooda are being accused of bullying Gurmehar Kaur, the woman whose Facebook post against ABVP went viral. Photo courtesy: Twitter\@virendersehwag, @randeephooda, @mehartweets

Thank you for your attention.

We do not intend to tag Gurmehar Kaur only as a Kargil martyr's daughter, which she is and is proud of, but want her to be considered a citizen of India with the ability to think critically, has her own set of ideals and ideologies, and can speak and stand up for herself, even if that means disagreeing to millions of Indians.

Beauty of democracy, right?

Photo courtesy: Twitter (@mehartweets) Photo courtesy: Twitter (@mehartweets)

Kaur, a student of Delhi's Lady Sri Ram College, and daughter of Kargil martyr Captain Mandeep Singh, made a Facebook post on February 22 with a photo of herself holding a placard that said, "I am a student from Delhi University. I am not afraid of ABVP. I am not alone. Every student of India is with me," and #studentsagainstABVP. The post went viral with over 3,500 shares and many students followed suit and made similar posts.

Kaur's post came after the deplorable violence that took place at Delhi University's Ramjas College between members of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and All India Students Association over an invitation sent to JNU's Umar Khalid and Shehla Rashid for a cultural event. The ABVP has been accused of physically assaulting students and teachers, regardless of gender, and Delhi Police has been accused of inaction.

Gurmehar's campaign enraged right-wing loyalists, and as seen often on social media, many such people (with untraceable identities, thanks to the power of social media) even made rape threats to her for opposing ABVP.

Watch: ABVP enjoys government and institutional patronage, says Umar Khalid

VIRENDER SEHWAG'S ENTRY

Known for his witty tweets post his retirement from cricket, Virender Sehwag tweeted a photo of himself holding a placard carrying a (Photoshopped) message saying, "I didn't score two triple centuries, my bat did" and saying "Bat me hai Dum!" along with #BharatJaisiJagahNahi.

This was in response to learning that Gurmehar Kaur has been part of social media campaigns before as well. She was seen in one such campaign, to ensure better relationship with Pakistan, started by activist Ram Subramanian. Kaur was seen holding a placard that said, "Pakistan did not kill my dad. War killed him."

Photo courtesy: Twitter (@mehartweets) Photo courtesy: Twitter (@mehartweets)

#FYI: Twitter is out with memes and jokes on Kargil martyr's daughter for opposing ABVP

Sehwag's tweet didn't go down well with the sect of people known as "libtards and sickulars" but pleased the already enraged right-wing supporters. One fellow liked Sehwag's tweet so much that he said it is even better than Sehwag's triple century achievement.

RANDEEP HOODA CHEERS SEHWAG

Actor Randeep Hooda, who has in the past expressed his opinion about various socio-political issues, found Sehwag's sly tweet amusing. He quoted the tweet and lauded Sehwag for his wit. Hooda's tweet got 3,300 retweets and fueled more anger towards Gurmehar.

When senior journalists called him out for cheering Sehwag, Hooda said Kaur "is being used as a political pawn and a prop to spread hatred". This is what followed:

So when a girl speaks she is being "used"? How patronising (&sexist)to assume @mehartweets doesn't have a mind of her own. But that you do? https://t.co/1NggrZOhz4 barkha dutt (@BDUTT) February 26, 2017

none of these two "celebs" will match up to the dignity of this woman. Whatever her viewpoint is, she's lost her father, have some shame. pic.twitter.com/BrL0rG5Nsp Rituparna Chatterjee (@MasalaBai) February 26, 2017

Hats off to you for standing your ground, @mehartweets. A strong young woman like you gives us hope for India's future. https://t.co/tSNmMtoNvf Anna MM Vetticad (@annavetticad) February 26, 2017

You're welcome to call me what u want. She's no "poor girl" or "pawn." She's a strong, thinking adult who speaks her mind, handle patriarchy https://t.co/cKhgAumFcf Shekhar Gupta (@ShekharGupta) February 26, 2017

IS GURMEHAR BEING BULLIED?

There have been reports that the Bharatiya Janata Party pays to maintain an army of "trolls" that Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien raised the issue in the Rajya Sabha. O'Brien had accused Twitter user Rahul Raj, who goes by the handle @bhak_sala, of making "rape and communal threats" on the platform.

#FYI: Bhak sala: Rahul Raj, Twitter user Derek O'Brien slammed in Parliament, takes a break from social media

Gurmehar's viral Facebook post said, "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 Indians heart. It is an attack on ideals, morals, freedom and rights of every person born to this nation."

Standing up against supporters of the ruling party comes with a cost is possibly what many people think. Talking to NDTV, Kaur said, "I have been getting a lot of threats on social media. I think it is very scary when people threaten you with violence or with rape."

At such a time, when a fellow Indian citizen, a woman, is being threatened with violence and rape on social media, Sehwag's tweet -- even if it was meant to be a joke -- and Hooda's encouragement, is being considered as bullying.

ENTER KIREN RIJIJU

Quoting Randeep Hooda's tweet cheering Sehwag, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju asked, "Who's polluting this young girl's mind? A strong Arm Force prevents a war. India never attacked anyone but a weak India was always invaded," in response to the "Pakistan did not kill my dad" message Kaur tried to spread last May.

Who's polluting this young girl's mind? A strong Arm Force prevents a war. India never attacked anyone but a weak India was always invaded. https://t.co/gXHkAGi9sh Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) February 27, 2017

Many Twitter users are now wondering why Kaur, an adult, cannot have thought processes and opinions of her own and why a Union Minister would say that "her mind has been polluted".

Talking to the press, Rijiju also said people living in India should not talk against the nation.

It is due to this country India that you have freedom of expression. Iss desh ka namak khaa ke koi desh ke khilaf baat na kare: Kiren Rijiju pic.twitter.com/otqMRTR922 ANI (@ANI_news) February 27, 2017

MEANWHILE...

Union Minister Vijay Goel tweeted hailing Virender Sehwag and Randeep Hooda as youth icons, and said "we" are proud of the two "gems".

But the tweet was deleted soon after posting it.