She walks into the light, stoic and strong. She doesn’t speak but reaches out for the placards that read, “Hi. My name is Gurmehar Kaur. I’m from Jalandhar, India. This is my dad, Capt. Mandeep Singh. He was killed in the 1999 Kargil War. I was two years old when he died; I have very few memories of him.” And that’s when, above the rustle of the paper, the music begins. Plaintive notes that reflect many emotions — loss and longing, war and peace and the pathos of a subcontinent torn asunder.
Sheet after sheet asks questions on why India and Pakistan have been kept apart, why our governments don’t want to solve the problem, why we can’t build bridges with each other like France and Germany have even after two world wars, and how it wasn’t Pakistan, but war that killed her father.
The four-minute video unites the tragedy of Partition and the emotions of grieving families of men lost to war.
Gurmehar’s father, Capt. Singh (from the 49 Army Air Defence), died in what is perhaps India’s most televised war — fought in the summer of ’99 on rocky bluffs and icy heights that killed many and made the Last Post a familiar tune across India.
Gurmehar Kaur Photo Courtesy: Voice of Ram
“My dad was 29 when he died. From the conversations I’ve had with his batchmates, I know he was shot in the heart while leading the unit {4 Rashtriya Rifles} and this is something that will always inspire me to be brave and selfless. I was two years and 10 months; my younger sister was only four months. I’ve always felt that no one should be deprived of a father’s love the way I had been as a child and the video was the perfect way to send the message out,” says Gurmehar, a student of English Honours at Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi.
Gurmehar did not allow the loss to shadow her life. She moved to Harvest Tennis Academy, near Ludhiana, to pursue professional training in tennis when she was 12. “Playing the game involved a lot of travelling, and it gave me the chance to interact with people from all walks of life.”
Gurmehar became part of the #ProfileForPeace movement, started by Mumbai-based Ram Subramanian, a 37-year-old advertising professional who heads Handloom Picture Company and uses his time and skills to create campaigns that make a difference.
“My mother has never hesitated to talk about my father or his death. There hasn’t been a day when I did not replay his memories in my head. During one of our conversations, Ram suggested that we make a video to share my story,” says Gurmehar in an e-mail interview.
Ram, who is hugely into armchair activism, “because it gives regular people a channel to vent their angst against wrongs in the world, instead of building it up within”, also runs a page called Voice Of Ram on Facebook.
“I wrote and directed the Gurmehar video,” he says via telephone. “I am a South Indian. When I initiated the #ProfileForPeace campaign, people asked me what I knew about the Indo-Pak problem, the sacrifices of those who had lost someone from their family to war… So, I wanted to present Gurmehar’s story, so they understand too.”
He says his campaign is not difficult to run, even at a time when Kashmir is on the boil. “The truth is that there are more people in the world today who practise non-violence than violence. Normal people don’t want war… The enormity of the sadness is that the soldiers and civilians who are dying are both our people. Indians and Pakistanis seem to get along all over the world except in India and Pakistan. If the U.S. and Japan can put their past behind, why can’t we?”
While both Ram and Gurmehar admit that they’ve received some hate mail, which they have ignored, they have been deluged by positive response to the video from the world over, including some reciprocatory ones from Pakistan.
“I never thought I would receive the love that I have. Some delegates from Pakistan made the effort to bring a special sweet in a clay pot through immigration and customs for me. Some of them are now good friends,” says Gurmehar.
“My Facebook profile is a place I go to when I need reassurance, because there are so many people sending good wishes.”
Her father’s unit has also been a source of encouragement to Gurmehar. “They are family,” she says. “Kargil Diwas means a lot to me. I’m so proud to be associated with it at a personal level and I am thankful to all those because of whom we are here today. I wish to live in a world where there are no more Gurmehar Kaurs who miss their dad.”
Watch the video here:
