E-Paper
‘We are Gen Z’ the new ‘jaante nahi mera baap kaun hai’: Omar Abdullah on viral Kargil video of woman
Omar's reaction came in response to a video in which a woman can purportedly be seen shouting and creating a ruckus at the Minimarg checkpoint in Kargil, Ladakh
Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday took a swipe at the growing use of the “We are Gen Z” tagline, likening it to the old-school threat, “Jaante nahin ho mera baap kaun hai?” and warned that turning the phrase into a threat at every perceived slight is the quickest way to erode any goodwill surrounding Gen Z.
“This “we are Gen Z” has become the new “jaantay nahin ho mera baap kaun hai”. The quickest way to erode any Gen Z goodwill is to start using it as a threat at the slightest perceived affront.”
His reaction came in response to a video going viral on social media, purportedly of a woman shouting and creating a ruckus at the Minimarg checkpoint in Kargil, Ladakh. She was among several tourists waiting to cross the barricaded area.
The incident took place on July 25, when the movement of the defence minister and the Army chief along the Zojila-Gumri route led to traffic restrictions in the area, the Times of India reported, citing sources. HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the report, neither was there any official response from the Army by Wednesday evening on the incident.
Officials said the two were scheduled to travel by air, but bad weather forced them to fly by helicopter to Gumri, from where they travelled by road towards Kargil, according to the report.
The woman, in the video, could be heard saying people travel from far away and spend considerable amounts of money on their trips, only to face “all this”. She was seen arguing with the security personnel at the checkpoint and said that they were tourists, not Kashmiris who, she said, were subjected to such behaviour.
“We are Gen Zs… we will not tolerate this nonsense,” the woman was heard saying.
Omar Abdullah meets Sergio Gor
In an unrelated development, CM Abdullah on Wednesday met US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, who is on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
Gor said that the United States will reconsider the advisories on travel to Jammu and Kashmir as the central government and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah have taken steps to make it a safer place.
"The United States puts out travel warnings and every so often, we re-evaluate those travel warnings. I cannot make any big announcements here today, but it is something we are going to look at.
"New Delhi, the chief minister here, the government here, we believe have made some incredible steps to keeping this area safer and making it more safe," Gor said at a joint media briefing with Abdullah, news agency PTI reported.
He added that Jammu and Kashmir is an important part of India and an incredibly beautiful place.
"So, we will be looking at if the travel warning that is imposed and recommended by the United States is something that should be downgraded because, as I said earlier, this is a beautiful area. I think a lot of Americans would enjoy coming here and seeing the beauty and the opportunities that exist here," the US envoy added.
The J&K chief minister said he discussed with Gor the relations between New Delhi and Washington with a specific focus on Jammu and Kashmir.
"It was a very good meeting. We had an opportunity to discuss the relations between our two countries, but with a specific focus on what the US can do with Jammu and Kashmir," the chief minister said.
