For Immediate Release: MUNAWAR FARUQUI RELEASED FROM JAIL WITHIN ONE HOUR OF “RIGHT TO LAUGH” DIASPORA SOLIDARITY SHOW
For Immediate Release:
MUNAWAR FARUQUI RELEASED FROM JAIL WITHIN ONE HOUR OF “RIGHT TO LAUGH” DIASPORA SOLIDARITY SHOW, VIEWED BY 1,800+ PEOPLE
“At every single moment, we have the ability to stand on the side of justice. Every single day, we have the ability to say: What side am I going to be on?” - Poet and Emcee Fatimah Asghar
Press Contacts:
Sunita Viswanath, Hindus for Human Rights, 001-917-518-2441, sunita@hindusforhumanrights.org
Minhaj Khan, Indian American Muslim Council, 001-800-839-7270, minhaj.khan@iamc.com
Most of us welcomed 2021 after a terrible year of turmoil and loss, but Indian comedian Munawar Faruqui spent over a month in jail for jokes he didn’t even tell. Today a group of young South Asian American comedians performed in the Right to Laugh Solidarity comedy event organized by the Reclaiming India coalition. Munawar Faruqui was released from jail within an hour of our solidarity event, which has drawn over 1,800 views on Facebook.
LINK TO THE FACEBOOK LIVESTREAM OF THE EVENT
WHICH TOOK PLACE AT 12 NOON EST (10:30 PM IST) ON SATURDAY FEB 6th.
According to BBC India correspondent Soutik Biswas, “On the evening of 1 January, he was kicking off a 14-city tour with a ticketed show in a café in the central Indian city of Indore. A leader of a local Hindu fringe group had arrived and stopped the show, complaining that the comic was ‘insulting’ Hindu religious sentiments.”
However, Faruqui hadn’t even told a single joke. Nevertheless, the mere suspicion that Faruqui was going to tell an offensive joke was enough for the Indore police to arrest him. Faruqui and four of his friends—Nalin Yadav, Prakhar Vyas, Priyam Vyas and Edwin Anthony—were arrested that night, and Sadakat Khan, another friend of Faruqui, was arrested the following day. Lower courts in Madhya Pradesh refused to grant Faruqui bail twice.
The Reclaiming India coalition announced a virtual comedy show in solidarity with Faruqui, and recruited nine young South Asian American comedians ready to perform. There are many more comedians ready to perform if a follow-up show is organized.
Two days ago, on February 4, the organizers rejoiced at the news that the Supreme Court of India had granted Faruqui interim bail. The organizers decided that their show would go on, as a celebration of his release, and also as a gesture of solidarity with Faruqui’s friends, and all of India’s prisoners of conscience, such as Anand Teltumbde, Sudha Bharadwaj, and Umar Khalid. Activists in India were hopeful that Munawar might make a cameo appearance in the show.
However, for over 30 hours after his interim bail was granted, Munawar remained in jail. It wasn’t until an hour after the Right to Laugh show concluded that Munawar was finally released from the Indore city jail.
Poet, filmmaker, educator and performer Fatimah Asghar, emcee for the show, opened with this passionate plea for Munawar’s release and the release of everyone unjustly imprisoned in India today:
“Faruqui is one individual, but a young outspoken Muslim comedian. His case encapsulates so much of what is happening in India in recent years. We have seen rising discrimination and violence towards Muslims and other minorities, towards artists and members of the media, and towards any public figure who dares to dissent against the government. That is why we, as young South Asian Americans, are taking a stand in solidarity with Faruqui.”
The lineup of comics treated a wide range of topics, from the immigrant experience in America to global politics to strategies for making junk foods worse, with irreverence and wit. The one-hour show, live-streamed on Facebook, has reached over 1,800 viewers at latest count.
A few highlights from the evening’s sets:
“I quit my PhD in biomedical engineering in December of 2019 to pursue my passion of performing live standup comedy—because comedians, we have great timing.”
An impression of Columbus landing in America: “Namaste. Or assalamu alaikum. Yeah, I learned the top two religious greetings!”
“Once upon a time, I believed myself to be an honorable student of postcolonial theory...” After watching The Crown: “INDEPENDENCE? How dare they! How could British Cameroons reject Claire Foy as their Queen?”
“Munawar got put in jail for jokes, and I can kind of relate because I got excommunicated from the family WhatsApp group when I told them I was planning to pursue comedy.”
“I’m the guy who came up with Oreo Thins. This was a radical new idea. We all know the biggest problem with Oreos was too much cream.” On Gushers: “I don’t think it’s healthy for elementary school kids to be thinking about ‘gushing’ at the cafeteria table.”
“Mexican kids were way cooler than Indian kids growing up because they could talk about stuff that kids actually like, like tacos and soccer, and I did science olympiads... I knew about photosynthesis way too early to be considered an ally.”
On growing up in Florida: “Everything you’ve heard about Florida is true. It’s a lot like One Direction Tumblr in 2015.”
“Did you know that Benjamin Netanyaju does not drink ice water? ... He doesn’t believe in a two-state solution.”
Asghar concluded by reading a poem of hers titled “If They Should Come For Us,” and gave closing remarks connecting Faruqui’s case to the wider nexus of social and political struggles in South Asia:
“As South Asian people, we see the farmers’ protests that are happening, we see the occupation of Kashmir by both India and Pakistan, we see caste-based oppression throughout the entire subcontinent and extending to the diaspora, and an incredible amount of ethnic and religious-based oppression. Something that’s really important for us is to think about our role as South Asian people. At every single moment, we have the ability to stand on the side of justice. Every single day, we have the ability to say: What side am I going to be on?”
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This solidarity show was organized by Reclaiming India, a joint initiative of the global Indian diaspora, representing diverse voices, issues, identities, and their intersections. The core members of Reclaiming India are Dalit Solidarity Forum, Global Indian Progressive Alliance, Hindus for Human Rights, India Civil Watch International, Indian American Muslim Council, and Students Against Hindutva Ideology. The Philadelphia-based Progressive India Collective also co-sponsored this event.
The diaspora organizations that hosted this event pledge their solidarity to all the political prisoners, targeted minorities and dissenters in India. Here are solidarity statements from some of the organizations:
Dalit Solidarity Forum Dalit Solidarity Forum in the USA holds hands with Munawar Faruqui across prison bars. We demand his immediate release rattling those iron bars.
Hindus for Human Rights A democracy that seeks to be recognized as a world power can not afford to display a thin skin towards political satire, which is an essential part of public life. If the US were to apply similar standards, our jails would be filled with veterans of Saturday Night Live. We are propelled by a Hinduism which affirms fun and jokes, and allows -- indeed, prescribes -- many ways of being. The Rg Veda says, "aano bhadra krtavo yantu vishwatah," which means, "let noble thoughts come from all directions." We are asked to be open-minded and to understand that there are many ways to live, think and be. We demand the right to make jokes and the right to laugh.
Students Against Hindutva Ideology, an inter-university inter-faith student coalition, stands in solidarity with Munawar Faruqui. As students of the Indian diaspora, we condemn the stifling of minority and opposition voices under the BJP government, and will continue to work in India and the diaspora to change behaviours and promote the values of the secular, democratic Indian constitution.
Progressive India Collective
Philadelphia-based Progressive India Collective stands with Munawar Faruqui and the five others arrested with him. The fact that these charges were brought and Munawar and his friends have spent weeks in jail makes a mockery of the constitutional rights to liberty and free speech. Though now interim bail has been granted, it is too little too late, and we call for these absurd charges to be dismissed with immediate effect.
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