Mohammed Obaidulla Sharief Chief Editor, The Daily Pasban
In his latest tweet, Munawar Faruqi, the popular stand-up comedian, has announced that he will no longer perform comedy shows. His words are: “Putting me in the jail for the joke I never did to cancelling my show which has nothing problematic in it. This is unfair………I think this is the end…..You guys were wonderful audience. Goodbye! I’m done.”These are the words of disappointment from an artist whose face always beams with smiles and who has tried to tickle through his performances, smiles, and laughter in his audience. The manner in which the laughter show of the artist scheduled in Bangalore on November 28 was cancelled on the basis of frivolous reasons intended to highlight a particular ideology, indicates where our country is heading. Someone in the ‘Wire’ (Urdu version) has commented that after the cancellation of Munawar Faruqi’s show by the Bangalore police, it is evident that India is losing the status of a State based on its constitutional values but is heading towards becoming a country hinged on the philosophy of a particular community. The cancellation of the show has also proven beyond doubt that law enforcement
and administrative authorities who should take unbiased stands on issues have become susceptible to passionately playing the roles of volunteers for some organizations and their affiliates.
Munawar Faruqi is a cheerful person with smiles always radiating from his face. He portrays the sociopolitical, economic and other realities of modern India in his comedies. He is a writer and a rap singer too and is seen in one of his video songs revealing the harsh experiences of his life in Bombay. His Youtube channel has more than five lakh subscribers, and he is also highly popular on Instagram. The topics of his comedies are other than general subjects and often end without conclusions, leaving the audience to ponder and seek answers and solutions. For instance, in his jokes, he criticizes those Punjabi musical videos that present women as greedy; quips about Indian social websites as dating platforms, and so on. Like artists in other freedom-loving countries, he uses his satirical talents to criticize even the government and was jocular when he recently lamented about the waste of water cannons on protesting farmers.
It appears from the measures against Munawar Faruqi that he is an indirect target to send a subtle message to the citizens at large that the criteria for decision-making at power centres are changing. It is a dangerous trend for Indian democracy. A few cases in point are the recent instructions by the police for Christians in Belgaum to skip prayer meets in the wake of possible threats of attack by right-wing organizations. The stand of police in not acting against those threatening law and order but directing Christians to lay low and opt for online prayers does not bode well for democracy and the protection of human rights. At the periphery, it appears that most of the law enforcement has ascribed to the views of some particular organizations and is in tune with them in considering Christians and Muslims as secondclass citizens and requires a nod from them for performing lawful duties of protecting the rights of the religious minorities. The incident at Gurgaon near Delhi, in which Muslims were prevented from offering Friday prayers but Hindu organizations were granted permission to perform puja and sing bhajans illustrates the shift in the perspective of the authorities. Denial of permissions for the shows of Munawar Faruqi in Mumbai, Kanpur in Chattisgarh earlier and recently in a dozen other cities in the course of two months for likely threats by right wing activists, bears ample testimony to the changed mindsets. These facts also remind of an incident in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh where a University department hosting a talk on an academic subject was treated by the police in much the same way as its Bangalore counterpart. Since, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad had objections to the inclusion of a particular speaker in that talk, the police instead of being proactive, forced the University to cancel the event.
The growing connections between law enforcement and some particular organizations and the ascription of the former to the views of the latter, are portending a threat to the Rule of Law in the country as well as to its integrity and stability. Courts have not taken cognizance of these developments, thinking of them as temporary aberrations and would get set right organically with time. But all sensible citizens know that the developments are not transitory deviations but gradual slopes from the summit going down into the abyss.
We can comprehend the gravity of the affairs considering the stand of the Indore police in arresting Munawar Faruqi for an uncommitted offence and applauding the complainants for the objections against him. The words of Munawar Faruqi, mentioned at the beginning of this column, have come out sincerely from the depths of an aching heart, and in miniature outline the prevailing grim state of affairs. There is a crying need that everyone concerned with the protection of the Constitution, enforcement of Rule of Law, safety and integrity of the country, be he a parliamentarian or a legal practitioner or a bureaucrat or a law enforcement official or a democratic-spirited citizen must contemplate about the aforesaid developments and their adverse impact on the society. Needful reforms in a legal manner have to be brought in place to uphold the supremacy of the Rule of Law and to make law enforcement and administration consciously deter from succumbing to pressures, coercion, or arm-twisting from any quarter. Only then it is possible to have a peaceful, healthy, harmonious society as dreamed of by the founding fathers of the Constitution.
Satire in its various forms, such as comedy, parody, jokes, etc. is a tool for highlighting through humour, the social-political and other evils, clamouring for reforms, remedies, corrections, and atonements. It must be encouraged and welcomed with open arms.
