Munawar Faruqui is not being bullied for his jokes, but for his faith

[Zarvan]

Apoorvanand writes: An example is being made of the comedian to send the chilling message to all Muslim that they cannot expect to live their lives in India in their way.

Munawar Faruqui

“The attacks of which I have been the object have broken the spring of life in me… People do not realise what it feels like to be constantly insulted.” It is as if artist Edouard Manet is speaking for Munawar Faruqui. But Manet and Gustave Courbet faced insults and punishment for their realistic challenge to the art establishment. Is Faruqui paying for any artistic innovation or rebellion? One must be clear that it is not his comedy or humour that has put him in the line of fire from “Hindu” groups. Some well-intentioned people are trying to present it as that. They are pleading that humour strengthens democracy, that public humour is a sign of a healthy society and so on, and are lamenting that the space for it is shrinking in India. By saying all this, we are trying to turn our eyes from an ugly truth.

We must accept that it is Munawar Faruqui, a Muslim, who is under attack. For being a Muslim. For the audacity to smile and stand upright. This is the open bullying of a Muslim by the affiliates and fellow travellers of the RSS, with the connivance of the law-and-order apparatus. It is not his jokes that are making “Hindus” angry. There is no genuine hurt involved here, which can sometimes lead to anger. That can be understood and dealt with. In this case, a cold decision seems to have been made that an example will be made of Faruqui — and through him, a message sent to all Muslims: They should not expect to live their lives, their way, in India. They are at the mercy of the radicals of the RSS network.


The cancellation of Faruqui’s show in Bengaluru has another dangerous aspect. This time, it is the police that has taken the lead in forcing the organisers to cancel the programme. The Bengaluru police acted at the behest of “many organisations”, which in its view were opposed to his show. By doing this, the police legitimised and privileged their view. It also called Faruqui a controversial figure and told the organisers that “many states have banned his comedy shows”. The police lied. No state in India has banned his shows. It is the threat of violence by organisations like the Bajrang Dal and the refusal of the police to give security that forced the organisers in different states to withdraw. The culprit in all such cases is these violent organisations and the police willing to stand with them and not Faruqui, who is the one being threatened. It is not so complicated for the law-and-order machinery to decide what it has to protect: It has to protect the right to life of the person under attack, and not persecute him.

A spurious argument is being made that Faruqui has mocked Hindu gods and goddesses and “Hindu” organisations are aggrieved by this. A show not done, jokes not cracked are being imagined and made a reason for action against him. The Indore bench of the MP High Court did not help.

Faruqui does not do comedy as a hobby. This is his livelihood. By making it impossible for him to use his skills to earn his bread, he is being put in the category of the fruit-seller who would not be allowed in Hindu localities, the mehndiwala Hindu women would not go to, the bangle-seller barred from mixed and Hindu localities and the hotel owner, who would face violence for “defiling” sacred Hindu land. The list is long. Meat shops, slaughterhouses, food chains — more people and categories are added regularly. The only thing common to them is their Muslimness.



Different “secular” excuses are used to criminalise their economic activities. From cleanliness to saving the honour of women. The deviousness is evident. But we should also say, that apart, it is the Muslim self which is being told that s/he has to subservient to the wishes of the “Hindu” groups who claim to represent the Hindu sentiments and interests. That s/he cannot have a voice unless it has passed the test of the “Hindu censor”

We have also heard people asking why Faruqui can’t mock Islam or its sacred figures. As if only by doing so, would he qualify to practice humour. Well-meaning people fall for this. This is what drove M F Husain out of India.

Karnataka is a BJP-ruled state. But the police in Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh (a-Congress ruled state), succumbed to the threat of the “Hindu” organisations and Faruqui had to cancel his show there as well. Neither the government nor the political leadership thought it necessary to intervene. When opposition leaders proclaim to support him, they need to show it in their actions — by standing up to the goons, protecting his right to do his job and not making his existence conditional to the pleasure of the violent “Hindu” groups.

By not respecting Faruqui, the law-and-order authorities are also diminishing themselves. From Gurgaon to Bengaluru, they have started resembling an extended coercive arm of the “Hindu” groups. They are so loyal that they anticipate these groups’ wishes and act accordingly. When the Gurgaon police did not stop “Hindu” groups from disrupting the Juma Namaz at police-designated sites and watched them perform havan and bhajan in a “public space”, they gave the message that they are not in command.

If this is not the case, then we reach an even more disturbing conclusion: The police has aligned itself ideologically with the RSS network. The courts, more often than not, choose not to notice the threat to the constitutional order. They do not seem to be averse to this ideological order replacing our constitutional order.

Rather than emotionalising the issue, we need to say that Faruqui and his co-religionists have as much claim over India as Hindus. To deny them that using the coercive power of the state would not be and should not be tolerated by us who believe in the constitutional idea of India. We need to stand up to bullies, secular political parties need to walk the talk and not issue empty solidarity messages. Unless we show that we can stand up for his freedom to live his life his way, our lament is worthless.

This column first appeared in the print edition on December 1, 2021 under the title ‘It’s not about the jokes’. The writer teaches at Delhi University

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Apoorvanand writes: Munawar Faruqui is not being bullied for his jokes, but for his faith (indianexpress.com)

 

[Clutch]

Thank God for Pakistan.

Can we please ship all our Neo-liberals to India so they can also get the same treatment as Faruqui ???? The Pakistani ungrateful Neoliberal live like kings and queens here in Pakistan and curse this very land everyday...

Please take our Neoliberals and take care of them the Hindutva way..
.

 

[Rollno21]

Thank God for Pakistan.

Can we please ship all our Neo-liberals to India so they can also get the same treatment as Faruqui ???? The Pakistani ungrateful Neoliberal live like kings and queens here in Pakistan and curse this very land everyday...

Please take our Neoliberals and take care of them the Hindutva way..
.

Common dude you know ,he will have no chance in Pakistan or for that matter even in India if he makes jokes on Islam.

And some complain his show is.cancelled.
He should shut the mouth all the people who claim he only makes joke of Hindu religion by makes couple of jokes on Islam.

We have also heard people asking why Faruqui can’t mock Islam or its sacred figures. As if only by doing so, would he qualify to practice humour. Well-meaning people fall

The problem with the bold part not the well meaning people fall for it but some people want others to believe it's the fault of others and not of the person who hurts the feelings of others ,it's always the other person's fault.

 

[jamahir]

The Bengaluru police acted at the behest of “many organisations”, which in its view were opposed to his show. By doing this, the police legitimised and privileged their view.

If this is not the case, then we reach an even more disturbing conclusion: The police has aligned itself ideologically with the RSS network.

Exactly !

The courts, more often than not, choose not to notice the threat to the constitutional order. They do not seem to be averse to this ideological order replacing our constitutional order.

That sadly is also the case.

 

[SuperStar20]

If he is really talented, He can make jokes and interesting on any subject which is not sensitive to people. Looks like third grade comedian.

 

[jamahir]

If he is really talented, He can make jokes and interesting on any subject which is not sensitive to people. Looks like third grade comedian.

Disregarding his use of profane words, which most Indian stand ups seem to unfortunately use, he does raise some points. For example two days ago I watched one show of his where he mentions that his sister wanted to join a dance class so she is still in the store room being locked up by her Indian Muslim family. That describes the situation of the current Indian Muslims, majorly the middle class. If he has raised some points about Hindutvadis what is wrong ? The wrong people cannot use "Oh this matter is sensitive to us" excuses and refuse to speak of issues that exist among them.

If Ambedkar had lived now and like in 1927 he had burnt the foul book Manusmriti which defines the caste system and other things it seems, he would have probably been arrested for "Oh this act has hurt our religious sentiments".

 

[lightoftruth]

If he is really talented, He can make jokes and interesting on any subject which is not sensitive to people. Looks like third grade comedian.

Their intention is never comedy, they consider themselves as political activists against ruling government.

"speaking truth to power" ,its only a niqab of comedy under rampant Hinduphobia, vulgarity & liberal trash.

These people are getting hit where it hurts the most i e their pockets and as usual out with victim card.

 

[Ahmet Pasha]

Disregarding his use of profane words, which most Indian stand ups seem to unfortunately use, he does raise some points. For example two days ago I watched one show of his where he mentions that his sister wanted to join a dance class so she is still in the store room being locked up by her Indian Muslim family. That describes the situation of the current Indian Muslims, majorly the middle class. If he has raised some points about Hindutvadis what is wrong ? The wrong people cannot use "Oh this matter is sensitive to us" excuses and refuse to speak of issues that exist among them.

If Ambedkar had lived now and like in 1927 he had burnt the foul book Manusmriti which defines the caste system and other things it seems, he would have probably been arrested for "Oh this act has hurt our religious sentiments".

Indian muslims here in US drink, party, wear mini mini mini clothes. A lot of these are people on student visa it seems.

 

[SuperStar20]

Disregarding his use of profane words, which most Indian stand ups seem to unfortunately use, he does raise some points. For example two days ago I watched one show of his where he mentions that his sister wanted to join a dance class so she is still in the store room being locked up by her Indian Muslim family. That describes the situation of the current Indian Muslims, majorly the middle class. If he has raised some points about Hindutvadis what is wrong ? The wrong people cannot use "Oh this matter is sensitive to us" excuses and refuse to speak of issues that exist among them.

If Ambedkar had lived now and like in 1927 he had burnt the foul book Manusmriti which defines the caste system and other things it seems, he would have probably been arrested for "Oh this act has hurt our religious sentiments".

Well no one cares if he does jokes on people, their language, food habit, cloths. India has plenty.

 

[jamahir]

Indian muslims here in US drink, party, wear mini mini mini clothes. A lot of these are people on student visa it seems.

Well, drinks and mini mini clothes apart it is good that they get freedom to enjoy life because in India they have to live under the ominous idiocy, irrationality and non-intellectuality of the Tablighi Jamaat who have imposed a misinterpretation of Islam where they live in ghettos, are fanatics of prayers and have foot-long beards and have to wear burqas and some males even wear the Arab dress called Thawb because that will supposedly make them a better Muslim. This has generally been so for the last 20 years.

Well no one cares if he does jokes on people, their language, food habit, cloths. India has plenty.

So in which category among those would put the caste system ? And let alone jokes even straight ads are forced off air. One was the Alia Bhatt ad for Manyavar suitings in which she as the bride at her wedding asks her family and her in-laws to do Kanyamaan ( celebration of the bride and respect for her at her husband's house ) instead of Kanyadaan ( the traditional Hindu abandonment of the bride by her parents into the unknown hands of her husband and his family ). The Hindutvadis were furious with this ad and said it insulted their culture. Well, if the culture contains anti-human elements then they should be removed, yes ? Similarly if someone points at a wrong cultural element in a humorous manner it should make the people think and they should speak for its removal instead of making a hungama.

 

[Black Tornado]

There are comedians like Zakir Khan as well, but why he never faces harrassment? Reason is he sticks to comedy, not making jokes like these:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1465194639929970693

If he sticks to comedy he’ll never face harrassment, and if it had been because of his faith then wasn’t Tanmay Bhat doing the same? He had to apologise to Christian groups for his jokes as well.

Stop playing victim everywhere.
Aplologise first.

 

[jamahir]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1465194639929970693

I agree he should not have made those Ram-Sita jokes.

But for how long will Hindutvadis outrage, riot and lynch because of a crime that never happened ? I speak of the Godhra train burning. Parts of that train got burnt by a liquid splashing through them from the inside. It was probably the cooking oil carried by the aggressive fools, the kar sevaks ( Hindu pilgrims to Ayodhya ), who were among the passengers in some bogies. From this 2011 article :

The inquiry commission's findings contradicted an earlier probe by retired Supreme Court judge Umesh Chandra Banerjee, who found that the coach fire was not deliberately started.

He concluded in 2005 that the fire began by accident.

He said there was evidence to suggest the blaze began inside the train and that it was not fire-bombed.

Another source with more detail :

The Godhra Massacre 127

As noted at the outset of this report, the ongoing violence in Gujarat was triggered by the torching of two train cars carrying Hindu activists on February 27, 2002. The attack followed an altercation between Hindu activists and Muslim vendors at the train station in Godhra that morning, around 8:00 a.m. A Muslim mob soon gathered and surrounded the train compartment which was then set on fire. There are significantly divergent accounts about the events leading to the dispute that resulted in the Godhra killings. It has been widely reported that a scuffle began between Muslim vendors and Hindu activists shortly after the train arrived at the station. The activists, who had been chanting Hindu nationalist slogans, were said to have refused to pay a vendor until he said "Jai Shri Ram" or "Praise Lord Ram."128 As the train then tried to pull out of the station, the emergency brake was pulled, a Muslim mob gathered outside the train, which was then set on fire.129 Fifty-eight passengers were killed, including fifteen children and twenty-five women.130

The Godhra railway station is situated in an overwhelmingly Muslim section of the city. For three weeks preceding the killings, trains carrying Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists had been stopping daily in Godhra.131 The activists were coming to and from Ayodhya, where the VHP sought to begin construction of a Hindu temple on the disputed site of the mosque destroyed by Hindu activists there. VHP leaders had set March 15, 2002 as a deadline to bring thousands of stone pillars to the site in order to begin construction of the temple.

Initially Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi claimed that the killings were an "organized terrorist attack."132 Federal government sources speculated that they were "pre-meditated," or the work of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).133 However, senior police officials in Gujarat later concluded that the killings were "not preplanned" but rather the result of "a sudden, provocative incident."134 In addition, a report from the Railway Protection Force (RPF) concluded that the killings resulted from a spontaneous altercation between VHP activists and merchants on the railway that escalated out of control, rather than a planned conspiracy.135

There was some forewarning of violence from within the police itself. Additional Director General of Police G. C. Raigar provided intelligence ahead of the Godhra incident that VHP volunteers were moving in and out of Gujarat and could instigate communal violence. He was removed from his post after presenting evidence to news media that law and order in the state could be compromised by VHP volunteers coming to and from Ayodhya. He had also questioned the government's ability to provide security to the Hindu activists or take other measures, despite repeated warnings.136

In July 2002, results of an official investigation by the Ahmedabad-based Forensic Science Laboratory stated that the fire could not have been set by the mob from the outside as had been alleged; the fire, it claimed, was set from inside the train.137 Close on the heels of the forensics report, activists in Gujarat released the results of a detailed survey of the families of those killed in Godhra. The survey revealed that most of those reported killed, and in whose name revenge was unleashed, were not kar sevaks (Hindu activists) but ticketless travelers or free riders-a norm on Indian trains.138 Following media inquiries that the reservation list for that day be made available to the public, the Gujarat government released the names of thirty-nine of the fifty-eight who died. The other nineteen have yet to be identified. It remains unclear how many of those killed were kar sevaks.139

The findings of these reports have yet to find their way into the Godhra investigations, which are fraught with procedural irregularities that directly violate both Indian and international law.140

So the blame for that train's burning lies not with the Muslims but with the VHP and other kar sevaks. And the extortionary demand by the Hindutvadis for Muslims to chant "Jai Shri Ram" existed then too - 19 years ago. These are the truths.

Aplologise first.

What for ?

 

[Chhatrapati]

Disregarding

I guess Hindus has stopped taking shit. What's your opinion on Satanic verses though?

 

[Xestan]

He made a very insensitive joke about Hindus, I'm sure a Pakistani comedian can't joke about Muslims or Islam in the same manner, even to half of the extent.

 

[niao78]

Honestly saying his content is really average. He should be allowed to perform and let him face reality as he can understand that it wasn't his comedic genuineness rather than dumbness of Indians which made him famous. He offended Hindus to balance it out he offended muslim. I can understand edgy humour like Dave Chappelle but his content isn't even really good