A woman who shouted “We are Gen Z” during an angry confrontation with security personnel during a road closure in Ladakh has apologised to the Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police and Ladakh Police.
In a video that went viral on social media, a woman was seen confronting security personnel at Minimarg check post in Kargil. She was shouting angrily over road closure.
What happened at Minimarg check post
“How did the minister leave from here… We are Gen Z. We will not tolerate this nonsense! We will not tolerate this nonsense. You all tell me, will you sit here (in protest) or not? Let’s go. How will they stop us?” she said in the video.
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“It has been five hours… they are not letting us go. Do we pay money to come here to travel, or do we come to tolerate all this? They have locked the gate. They do this to Kashmiris, and now they are doing it to tourists from outside as well! They locked it, didn’t even state their name, and walked away. There is no one sitting here to take any accountability,” she added.
The incident happened on July 26 when the road was temporarily closed for security reasons. It happened on the Minimarg-Zoji La-Sonamarg road near Minimarg check post, according to Ladakh Police.
‘I was very wrong’
Now, the 25-year-old woman has said she “respects” the Indian Army “so much” and what she said on that day was “very wrong”. She claimed that they had to wait for six hours due to road closure and she was a “patient having a lot of problems”.
“I respect the Indian Army so much. I could never dream that they would feel bad because of something I said. That day, we were travelling from Ladakh to Delhi. We didn’t know there was going to be a VIP movement. We waited for three to four hours in the morning, and when we asked a soldier how much longer it would be, he said another hour,” she told NDTV.
“Whatever I said in frustration was not right at all. It was very wrong,” she added.
J&K CM’s reaction
Further, she told the channel that she was portrayed in a “negative way” in the clip and due to that she went into depression. “But that thing was shown in such a negative way that I went into depression. I am a normal girl. I am a 25-year-old girl. I had no idea that this thing would increase so much. Now, through you, I am again apologising to all the people of the country, to the Indian Army, to the J&K police, to the Ladakh police and especially to Omar Abdullah (J&K CM). I am very ashamed that so many people were hurt because of me.”
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had also reacted to the video. On Wednesday (August 19), he wrote on X (Formerly Twitter), “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 (sic).”