Crimes and violence against women don't seem to take a backseat as Mumbai-based stand-up comedian Agrima Joshua is on the receiving end of rape and death threats.
The controversy has emerged after an old video of Joshua, dated April 2019, went viral in which she allegedly joked about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.?
Turns out, the comedian's jokes did not sit well with the ruling Shiv Sena in Maharashtra and Home Minister Anil Deshmukh instructed the police to take legal action against her.?
Joshua faced endless cyber abuse and online harassment, after which, she issued an apology.
However, what is concerning here is a video of a man named Shubham Mishra, who took it upon himself to call out Joshua for her 'offensive' jokes about the Maratha king. In a 2-minute-long distasteful clip, Mishra - who has a huge following on YouTube - abused the comedian and threatened to inflict sexual violence on her.?
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The video, full of rape threats, has now gone viral all over social media, leaving people absolutely outraged at the the foul language Mishra has used against Joshua.?
Several stand-up comedians and Bollywood actors - in addition to others on the Internet - have come forward and raised concerns over the video; The National Commission of Women took matters into its hands and tweeted after comedian Kunal Kamra tagged them in the video on the micro-blogging website.?
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The organisation's official Twitter handle wrote: '@NCWIndia has been tagged on this video by @kunalkamra88 where a man can be heard hurling abuses and giving open threats to a female comedian. #NCW is committed to creating safe online space for women. We'll take action and ensure that this man gets strictest punishment possible'.
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Shubham Mishra, or Badass Shubham Mishra, as he likes to term himself, is an apprentice of the famous or rather infamous, Hindustani Bhau who is known for the use of crass and foul language in his videos, which he posts online and has a huge fan base. Mishra's style is similar and has led to the the hashtag #ArrestBadassShubhamMishra on Twitter.
Gujarat Police was alerted by the NCW and appropriate action will hopefully be taken against Mishra for inciting sexual violence against women.?
After the backlash, Mishra released another video after deleting the first one in which he spoke about how his intention was never to issue a rape threat but rather express anger over the incident. Here is the second video.
The video was shot back in April 2019 when Joshua was performing at a comedy and music cafe in Mumbai's Khar (West) area and the part where she joked about the Maratha King's upcoming statue in the Arabian Sea has gone viral. The video has been taken down by Joshua ever since Shiv Sena's Thane MLA, Pratap Sarnaik, wrote to Home Minister, Anil Deshmukh, demanding the comedian's arrest.
In the video, Joshua allegedly jokes about speculation over the state government's plans to build a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the Arabian Sea.
On July 11,? Deshmukh tweeted, 'I have instructed CP (Commissioner of Police) Mumbai and IG (Inspector General) Cyber to take legal action expeditiously. I urge everyone to maintain calm and law will take its course'.
Aside from the verbal sexual abuse Joshua was subjected to by Mishra, MNS activists also allegedly broke into and vandalised the property of the cafe where the video was shot last year. A video of the same is also doing the rounds on social media.?
The cafe has issued a statement with regard to the vandalism at the venue: 'We are a family of artists. Not just comics, poets, storytellers, improvisers, singer-songwriters, musicians, technicians, engineers, lighting crew, sound recordists, photographers, videographers, editors, social media managers, decor and event planners, coordinators, programme curators, wait staff, hosts, cooks or housekeeping staff. To put forth a message, we devote our lives to finding creative expression. Not towards acts of barbaric violence or mindless sharing of violence'.
The fact that men resort to sexual violence and threats of the same nature when offended by a woman, regardless of the matter, is a grave issue. This is what leads to sexual crimes against women and the law needs to have stricter punishment for those inciting such behaviour.