The Independence Day fervour seems to have gripped the Twitterati, and those in Visakhapatnam too are no exception.
A unique campaign to support the Indian Armed Forces, who patrol the borders, has been trending on Twitter under the hashtag SaluteSelfie.
Scores of selfies have been pouring in with people uploading their selfies saluting the brave jawans. The campaign has got many celebrities hooked as well.
Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag was one of the first to post the #SaluteSelfie pictures from his Twitter account along with the message, “Take a #saluteselfie and make it ur profile pic. Salute our brave soldiers. Join me.”
Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan also joined the campaign by posting special pictures and photo montages under the trending hashtag #SaluteSelfie on Twitter, saying, “We salute our brave Armed Forces #SaluteSelfie … a small tribute. He continued, with a post of an ode to the soldiers separately with lines from his father Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s poem.
“#SaluteSelfie. Salaam un vir jawaanon ke prati ... poojya Babuji ke shabdon mein (in respect and in honour for our brave ‘jawaans’, a few lines from my father’s poem)!” Recently, Shah Rukh Khan posted his ‘salute selfie’ on his Twitter handle with the message: “Salute 2 r Armed Forces, who selflessly risk their lives 2 protect our beloved country & our families. #SaluteSelfie”.
Sports personalities like Parupalli Kashyap and Saina Nehwal have also joined the bandwagon and uploaded their selfies.
The #SaluteSelfie fervour has spread across cities with people on a spree to share their ‘Salute Selfie’ on social media.
Says Ayushi Singhal, a resident of Visakhapatnam: “This is our way of honouring the Army personnel who throw their lives in danger, fighting for our safety.”
College student Siddhartha Varma has made a collage of selfies, which he has shared on Twitter. “I will keep it as my profile picture throughout this week as a gesture of my gratitude for the Armed Forces,” he says.
This is our way of honouring the Army personnel who throw their lives in danger, fighting for our safety