Rally in support of Gurmehar Kaur

Ludhiana, March 2, 2017: Serious threats including those of rape to daughter of a national martyr Gurmehar have fully exposed the mindset and designs of the RSS and its outfits, the students belonging to ABVP in this particular case. This need to be resisted at every step otherwise the life of deprived sections of the society particularly women will become miserable and right to freedom of speech and dissent will be fully taken away. Citing the example of threats to a student Gurmehar who lost her father at the tender age of 2 years while fighting for the cause of the country, the speakers addressing a gathering of women and students and other citizens at mini secretariat here today at a rally in protest to the threats against Gurmehar Kaur and others said that this is not an isolated incident but a part of the chain of events right from the death of Rohit Vemulla, events at JNU, disappearance of Najeeb coupled with apathetic attitude of the police at the behest of the central government. The murder of intellectuals Kalburgi, Pansare and Dabolkar have shown total insensitivity to difference of opinion. This is a reflection of fascist tendencies and is against the ethos and basic tenets of our constitution. They further said that there is growing sense of insecurity among women since this government has come to power. It is time all the democratic elements unite. The educational institutions are a place of learning therefore different opinions must be debated there. The ABVP and other RSS outfits are opposed to this because they very well know that they are on the wrong footing. They can exist only through vitiating the atmosphere and threats. It is well known that they had no role in freedom struggle. Those who addressed the gathering include Dr Balbir Shah-Retd Professor DMC, Dr Gurcharan Kaur Kochar- President Punjab Istri Sabha Ludhiana Jit Kumari- Secretary Punjab Istri Sabha Ludhiana, Deepak Kashyap- convener All India Students Federation Ludhiana, Kunwar Ranjan, Ramesh Rattan, Dr Gulzar Pandher, Dr Arun Mitra, M S Bhatia, Gurnam Sidhu. Large number students and women participated in the rally.