Censorship In Comedy: Why Is India Scared Of Its Comedians And Their Political Humour?

In the past decade, stand-up comedy has become hugely popular in India. At the same time, comedians have come under fire for taking political swipes at the authorities. Recent developments in the comic fraternity of the country corroborates that political humor is generally not taken lightly in India.

Here's a list of comedians who were subjected to censorship.

Munawar Faruqui

Stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui on 28 November suggested that he may not do any more shows, after his scheduled show in Bengaluru was cancelled amid protest by the Hindu right-wing outfits who alleged that the artist had hurt the Hindu sentiments in one of his shows.

He was supposed to perform at the Good Shepherd Auditorium in Bengaluru Sunday. However, the Bengaluru Police asked the organisers to call off the show titled Dongri to Nowhere citing ¡°law and order¡± issues.

Planned shows in Mumbai and Gujarat over the last two months were also cancelled over threats of vandalism from members of the fringe outfit Bajrang Dal. In a social media post, Faruqui said, ¡°Nafrat jeet gayi, artist haar gaya (hate has won, artist has lost). I¡¯m done, goodbye. Injustice.¡± He added, "My name is Munawar Faruqui. And that's been my time, you guys were (a) wonderful audience. Good bye, I'm done," he said.

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Earlier on 1 January, he was arrested for allegedly making objectionable remarks about Hindu deities and Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a show in Indore on New Year¡¯s Day.

Soon after the show, Eklavya Singh Gaud, son of BJP MLA Malini Laxman Singh Gaud, had filed a complaint against Faruqui and others. Faruqui was then arrested under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including section 295-A which deals with deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class.

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He walked out of the prison after spending a month in jail. The Supreme Court granted him interim bail after the Madhya Pradesh High Court had rejected his bail plea on January 28.

Kunal Kamra

Kamra, one of India's most well-known comedians, was issued a notice of contempt on December 18, 2020 for allegedly denigrating the judiciary and judges through his social media posts after Attorney General KK Venugopal gave his consent for initiation of the contempt proceedings.

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Kamra recently filed his affidavit in response to the notice maintaining that even judges know no protection from jokes and that the public faith in the judiciary is founded on the institution¡¯s own actions and not on any criticism or commentary about it.

The affidavit is replete with satire. ¡°To believe any institution of power in a democracy is beyond criticism is like saying migrants need to find their way back home during an ill-planned, nationwide lockdown...the suggestion that my tweets could shake the foundation of the most powerful court in the world is an over-estimation of my abilities,¡± it said.

Wikipedia

¡°We are witnessing an assault on the freedom of speech and expression, with comedians like Munawar Faruqui being jailed for jokes that they have not even made, and school students being interrogated for sedition.¡±

Once in 2018, one of his shows at a university in the western city of Baroda had been cancelled for being "anti-national." Apparently, the vice chancellor of the university had received a complaint from former university students that Kamra intended to "ideologically pollute the minds of the youth" ahead of 2019 general election.

Vir Das

Recently, a complaint was filed against stand-up comedian and actor Vir Das after he uploaded a YouTube video on November 15. The video that was titled 'I come from two Indias' was an excerpt from his recent show at John F Kennedy Centre in Washington, DC. Delhi Police received a complaint at Tilak Marg PS, against Vir for allegedly using derogatory language against the nation.

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During his show in the US, Vir Das described an India of two sides where people "worship women during the day but gang rape them at night". In response to the strong backlash, he called it "satire about the duality of two very separate Indias". Others have shown support for the comic, who received a standing ovation.

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Earlier in Jan 2021, Vir Das appeared on public personality Lilly Singh¡¯s late-night talk show and shared that his jokes once got him into trouble with the police.

Lilly asked Vir, who recently released another Netflix special titled Outside In, about the censorship in comedy that¡¯s quite prevalent in India. Vir shared, ¡°I¡¯ve gotten into trouble because of jokes that I made, but I often find that the people who you are making a joke about, never have a problem. It¡¯s people who have ¡¯six degrees of separation¡¯, in love with that person, they have a problem.¡±

Wiki

Vir Das then proceeded to share an anecdote about the time when he was doing a show in Delhi, and he made a joke about late former president APJ Abdul Kalam. Soon, the stadium was filled with cops because someone in the audience found the joke offensive.

He proceeded to tell the other side of the story and shared that years later, when he met the former president, he was caught by surprise as APJ Abdul Kalam had heard the joke and even liked it. ¡°That¡¯s the best moment of my career,¡± Vir said.

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But many comedians are of the view that Indians are not ready for political satire. Unlike the West, which has a long-standing tradition of political comedy and satire against heads of the state, politicians and other celebrities, Indian comedians are still struggling for a wider acceptance. The questions remains: Is India really incapable of taking political humour?