Gurmehar Kaur was named in a list of Time magazine's next generation leaders. The publication hailed her as a warrior for free speech.
A Lady Sri Ram College student and the daughter of a Kargil martyr, Kaur had started a Twitter campaign called 'Not Afraid of ABVP', protesting against the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) students' wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) who was accused of violence at Ramjas College. The campaign had gone viral. Kaur's Twitter profile picture shows her holding a placard that reads: "I am a student from Delhi University. I am not afraid of ABVP. I am not alone. Every student of India is with me. #StudentsAgainstABVP."
At the same time, an earlier, unrelated online campaign, in which she was seen holding placards saying "Pakistan did not kill my dad, war killed him", had gone viral. Kaur found herself under severe attack from various quarters, including celebrities like Virender Sehwag and Randeep Hooda. The online army of trolls doled out death threats.