Satirical shows come under attack in India as laughing at politicians is increasingly harder
A complaint was filed against Kunal Kamra after he made a joke about a local leader, while the club where he performed was vandalised and partly demolished. His case reflects a growing climate of repression against comedy that makes fun of politicians. This trend began with Prime Minister Narendra Modi coming to power and continues with complaints, threats and even with some artists arrested.
New Delhi (AsiaNews) – In India one can no longer laugh, at least not in the case of political satire, after Kunal Kamra posted a video in which he made fun of Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
During the performance, which took place in early February, the standup comedian and political satirist, without directly naming Shinde, called him "gaddar" (traitor) in reference to his role in the split that divided the Shiv Sena party. Shinde’s faction eventually joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to form the current Maharashtra state government.
The reaction by supporters of Shinde’s party was immediate, vandalising the Habitat Comedy Club in Mumbai, where Kamra had performed, forcing it to close temporarily.
At least three complaints were also filed against the comedian for defamation and disturbance of public order, but he refused to apologise, asserting his right to freely express himself.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who belongs to the BJP, said that "insulting leaders will not be tolerated,” while supporting the attack on the Mumbai club.
For its part, police stood idly by during the incident, but later summoned some spectators as witnesses. Municipal authorities instead demolished part of the building, claiming it was illegal.
The club had already been in trouble some time earlier for hosting a show by comedian Samay Raina, titled "India's Got Latent" (a pun intended).
“Our right to freedom of speech and expression is not only to be used to fawn over the powerful and rich,” Kamra wrote on a social media platform. “Your inability to take a joke at the expense of a powerful public figure does not change the nature of my right. As far as I know, it is not against the law to poke fun at our leaders and the circus that is our political system.”
This is not the first time that government authorities targeted the comedian for his work. In the past he had made fun of a journalist, Arnab Goswami, calling him a "godi (lapdog) media", a sort of government spokesman. As a result, he was temporarily banned from boarding flights.
Recently, the comedian, who is a staunch supporter of free speech, pointed to India's ranking 159th out of 180 countries in terms of press freedom, according to Reporters Without Borders.
But his case is not isolated. In fact, it is part of a trend that began shortly after BJP leader Narendra Modi became prime minister in 2014.
The following year, a series of complaints were made against the AIB collective because of the use of profanity in shows deemed against Indian values.
In 2020, Agrima Joshua was the subject of death threats and rape for a stand-up video in which she apparently jokes about Maratha Emperor Chhatrapati Shivaji. It was later revealed that the controversial comments were related to a statue of the ruler under construction.
In 2021, in Madhya Pradesh, the son of a BJP MP filed a complaint against Munawar Faruqui who was later arrested for making comments about some Hindu deities. The comedian spent more than a month in prison.
That same year, Vir Das, after a much praised performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington, faced several police complaints and was arrested following a complaint by a BJP spokesman for allegedly defaming and insulting the country.
Again in 2021, Kamra and Faruqui had to cancel some of their shows in several cities because right-wing groups threatened violent actions, while state authorities offered no protection.
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