“I Stand With Gurmehar Kaur,” Richa Chadha On DU Politics

Richa Chadha tells The Quint that she stands up for Gurmehar Kaur.

Richa Chadha stands up for Gurmehar Kaur. The actress seen here in a still from Masaan.

Actress Richa Chadha, a history student from St Stephens, Delhi University, has very strong views about the recent violent protests at Ramjas College and the “nationalist” debate surrounding Gurmehar Kaur. Here’s what the Chadha had to say.

“Not OK to Beat Somebody Up For Having a Different Opinion”

Its very clear that political parties are using universities like JNU, FTII and Nalanda and other educational places as spaces where they can fight it out and whoever cannot see this conspiracy is basically an idiot. A teacher was attacked and was admitted to the hospital and anybody defending this is basically saying “hey, next time you have a problem with someone just go and hit them”. It is not ok to beat somebody up just because they have a different opinion from yours, and anybody condoning this is setting themselves up for something very very dangerous.

Richa Chadha

“I Stand With Gurmehar”

First of all it’s very disgusting that our discourse has stooped to this level that whoever you disagree with, you start harassing them online and trolling them and basically calling them all kinds of things, that doesn’t make you macho, that just makes you somebody who is a coward because you are attacking someone on social media for their views. I stand with Gurmehar and I completely stand against anybody who says that this is something her father would be ashamed of. Just respect the martyrdom of someone who has died for this country and if her father was alive today, he would stand up against these trolls.

Richa Chadha

Gurmehar Kaur stands with a picture of her father. (Photo courtesy: ANI screen-grab)

“You Become What You Hate”

By hating Pakistan and saying we must unite in our hatred for Pakistan what are you doing? You are basically becoming Pakistan. You are going to become what you hate. In Pakistan journalists are murdered, people who speak for the freedom of Baluchis are murdered, sufi singers are murdered, we all know that. Do we hate Pakistan that much that we want to become them? I think we secretly are in love with them because we say we hate Pakistan but we are going down the same very road.

Richa Chadha

Sehwag, Richa has a Message for You

This is something that has really upset me and I am a little bit relieved to see that Virendra Sehwag today said that it was a joke, it was a matter of wit etc etc. I mean I don’t want to comment on whether what he did was right or wrong, that’s for him to judge but really boys grow up. Are you so afraid of a 20-year-old that you are going to take Twitter to lambast her? Really? This has made me so mad.

Richa Chadha