Barely 17-years-old, Aashna Lidder bravely recalled the immense impact her father Brigadier Lakhwinder Singh Lidder, had on her, as she and her mother Geetika Lidder bid farewell to him one last time on Friday. Brigadier Lakhwinder Singh Lidder, was the defense advisor to CDS General Bipin Rawat and was traveling with him on the helicopter that crashed in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.
“I am going to be 17. He was with me for 17 years. My father was a hero, my best friend. Maybe it was destined and better things will come our way. He was my hero…motivator. He pampered me so much,” she said, calm and composed even as she was deeply grieving.
Naman to Courage of Wives & daughters of #indianArmy Men ?? They are the Real Warriors behind the Warriors. See Maturity of 17 yr old Ashna Lidder daughter of Brig LS Lidder “It’s a national loss. My father was a hero. Maybe it was destined & better things will come our way” ? pic.twitter.com/zfkyayb0vU
— Rosy (@rose_k01) December 10, 2021
Her mother Geetika Lidder told the media, “We must give him a good farewell, a smiling send-off, I am a soldier’s wife. It’s a big loss,” as the final rites of Brigadier Lidder were performed with full military honours at Brar Square crematorium in Delhi Cantonment. Their intense grief and dignified composure touched many hearts of those who watched the ceremonies.
However, there were some trolls who openly seemed aligned to right-wing ideologies who began spewing hate against the teenaged daughter of the senior officer. Some dug out old tweets they claimed were posted by Aashna Lidder’s and started taunting her as ‘woke’ because she had reportedly ‘liked’ many tweets of Congress and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Some others began sharing screenshots of old tweets purportedly by Lidder where she expressed opinion on the state of Uttar Pradesh. Some on the microblogging site fuelled a chat about how “military kids can end being woke”. Another compared her to peace activist Gurmehar Kaur, who is also a daughter of an Armyman killed in action.
In 2017, Kaur came under vicious attack by the supporters of the right-wing for promoting peace between India and Pakistan. Her video in which she can be seen holding a placard that read, “Pakistan did not kill my dad, war killed him” went viral and the supporters of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) began mocking her.
How do you justify these ? https://t.co/asX6e4rE1C pic.twitter.com/uX1BNf3qiU
— Arvind Gunasekar (@arvindgunasekar) December 10, 2021
On the same lines, trolls on Friday, began circulating a screenshot of a tweet from an account named Aashna Lidder which “criticised” Uttar Pradesh CM Adityanath. According to reports as right wing users started trolling the account, it was deactivated by the user.
A Twitter user wrote, “Mr Lidder’s daughter is woke too, just checked her profile.” Another added, “Aashna Lidder opposes BJP and leans towards INC on an ideological level as she believes in freedom, progressiveness, and inclusiveness. She should be respectfully asked if she wants to join politics after time heals her wounds. India needs people like her.” While it is not confirmed if the now deactivated account was that of Brigadier Lidder’s daughter, it has exposed the hate that the right-wing holds for anyone they suspect of being critical of their ideology.
Shiv Sena’s Priyanka Chaturvedi and Congress’ Karti Chidambaram, were among those who extended their support to Aashna.
17 year old,grieving yet holding strong,has just cremated her father,a decorated army officer,is being trolled for her views,they want to moderate her woke-ism,military train compulsorily,want her to be corrected. In the process got her to delete her account. How low will you go?
— Priyanka Chaturvedi?? (@priyankac19) December 10, 2021
Shame on the faux “patriots & nationalists” who have hounded a young educated & thinking girl off @Twitter #Aashnalidder
— Karti P Chidambaram (@KartiPC) December 10, 2021
This is Aashna Lidder.
Woke. Opinionated. Fearless.
No wonder they fear her.
I am proud of her. You should be too. pic.twitter.com/ZR4uJSEPiM— Kaveri ?? (@ikaveri) December 10, 2021
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Gen Bipin Rawat, wife and 11 others confirmed dead in chopper crash