In October 2017, Time magazine used the phrase "free speech warrior" in expressing their opinion of Kaur and included her in their "10 Next Generation Leaders" list for 2017.

[6] Her debut, a memoir, called Small Acts of Freedom which was published in January 2018 by Penguin Random House, was shortlisted for the Sahitya Akademi YUVA Puraskar in 2020.

Her father, Mandeep Singh, was one of the seven Indian Army personnel martyred at 1:15 am IST after a Rashtriya Rifle camp was attacked by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir on 6 August 1999.

The video went viral[15] in February 2017, after Gurmehar came forward with a social media message against ABVP at Delhi University, a student federation belonging to the Sangh Parivar.

"[18] In 2017, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs of India Kiren Rijiju commented on her video that "Some Political forces are behind her statements (Spoiling the minds of the students)".