'Enough is enough': In 36 placards, a Kargil martyr's daughter makes an appeal to India, Pakistan

Amid the strained on-and-off relationship between India and Pakistan which was put to test after the terror strike in Pathankot last year, a 19-year-old girl from Jalandhar has taken to Facebook to appeal to both the sides of the border to stop the war. In a powerful 4 minute 25 second video posted on 28 April, Gurmehar Kaur, using only written messages, tells why the war between India and Pakistan must come to an end. Kaur, who lost her father Capt. Mandeep Singh in the 1999 Kargil war, reveals how she had grown resentful towards Pakistan after her father’s demise. [caption id=“attachment_2760476” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Gurmehar Kaur in the video. Credit: Screengrab from Facebook[/caption] At the age of 6, Kaur confesses, she tried to stab a woman in a burqa. “Because for some strange reason, I thought she was responsible for my father’s death,” reads her placard. It was Kaur’s mother who then made her understand that the death of her father wasn’t the fault of Pakistan, but of the war. “It took me a while to know, but today I do. I have learnt to let go of my hate,” she tells. The purpose of the video, says Kaur, is that she wants the governments of both countries to “stop pretending and solve the problem”. Set in a slow background score, the heart rending video has no spoken word whatsoever. Kaur, wearing a brave face throughout the 36 placards that she holds, effectively makes the viewer relate to her plight. “If France and Germany can become friends after 2 World Wars; if Japan and USA can put their past behind and work towards progress, then why can’t we?,” she asks. Kaur states that she is questioning the calibre of the leadership of both nations. “We cannot dream of being a First World country with a Third World Leadership,” her message reads. She makes a request to “pull your socks up, talk to each other and get the job done.” The video then reaches the strongest point. In 3 consecutive messages, Kaur appeals, “Enough state-sponsored terrorism; enough state-sponsored spies; enough state-sponsored hatred.” “Enough is enough”, her next placard reads. The video, which was posted on a Facebook page on Thursday, had gone viral by the afternoon of 2 May by hitting close to 900,000 views. The video came online just a few days after the foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan held talks in New Delhi. It has received positive reactions from netizens belonging to both the nations. For two nations that have been at loggerheads for decades after being independent, its citizens share a lot of similarities, for instance, their plea for peace.