A 25-year-old woman whose confrontation with security personnel during a road closure in Ladakh went viral has apologised to the Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police and Ladakh Police, saying her remarks were made out of frustration after hours of waiting.
Speaking to NDTV for the first time since the video surfaced, the woman said she never intended to insult the armed forces or gain popularity from the incident.
“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.
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According to Ladakh Police, the video was recorded around Kargil Vijay Diwas on July 26, when the road was temporarily closed for security reasons. The incident took place near the Minimarg check post in the Dras area, where movement along the Minimarg-Zoji La-Sonamarg road had been restricted.
As the wait continued, a group of travellers gathered and tensions rose. In the viral video, the woman is seen questioning security personnel over the road closure and asking why some people, including a minister, had apparently been allowed to pass.
“How did the minister leave from here... We are Gen Z. We will not tolerate this nonsense!” she says in the video.
She also complained about the prolonged wait, saying travellers had been stopped for several hours without anyone taking responsibility for the situation.
However, speaking to NDTV, she said the viral clip did not capture the full context. She said the group had already waited for around six hours when they heard shouting further ahead and learned that a confrontation had taken place between members of the public and security personnel.
“After waiting another hour, bringing our total wait time to six hours, we heard shouting from the front. It seemed like a fight had broken out between the army, the local police, and the public,” she said.
She said she became involved after moving towards the commotion and told security personnel that she was a patient and was struggling after being stuck for hours.
“Whatever I said in frustration was not right at all. It was very wrong,” she said.
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“But that thing was shown in such a negative way that I went into depression,” she told NDTV. “I am a normal girl. I am a 25-year-old girl. I had no idea that this thing would increase so much.”
She apologised to the Indian Army, J&K Police, Ladakh Police and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
Explaining her “We are Gen Z” remark, she said the phrase came out spontaneously while people around her were encouraging her to speak up.
“I don't know where that phrase came from,” she said, adding that she did not intend to make any broader statement about Gen Z protests.
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