Denying Munawar Faruqui his rights

When I think of what’s been done to Munawar Faruqui, I want to hang my head in shame. I feel embarrassed, and India has been diminished. It’s nothing short of persecution. It seems the worst was perpetrated by the governments of Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Karnataka. We elected them to protect our rights — that is their beholden duty — but they’ve turned on us like tyrants. It seems Faruqui’s existence, liberties, and rights are to be determined by them and not our Constitution.

Let’s briefly consider what happened to Faruqui, a stand-up comedian, who earns his living making the rest of us laugh. Jokes are his stock-in-trade, and public performances, his lifeblood. Yet 12 of his performances, have been cancelled in the last two months — this includes one in Chhattisgarh, two each in Goa and Maharashtra, and three in Gujarat.

The most recent was last Sunday in

Bengaluru, just hours before it was to start. In incorrect English, the police claimed: “Munawar Faruqui is a controversial figure as he has been in controversial statements and on other religion Gods”. Yet, just a month earlier, Faruqui had performed at the same venue, and absolutely no one had objected.

The police also claimed “many states have banned his comedy shows”, but that is a blatant lie. Hindu Right-wing groups have protested against his shows, leading to many being cancelled, but no state has banned him.

Finally, this is the reason the police gave for cancelling his show: “This could create chaos and could disturb the public peace and harmony which may further lead to Low and order problems”. But have the police forgotten that it’s their duty to ensure this doesn’t happen and not allow such threats to negate or, even, curtail the rights of citizens? In banning Faruqui, rather than enforcing his rights and ensuring the threatened chaos did not materialise, the police have failed in their duty.

In fact, they’ve done it deliberately. The Indian Express reveals “a police officer in the know of the situation said a message had come from higher officials not to permit the event”. That, presumably, means the government.

Now let’s consider how Faruqui’s problems began. On January 1, he was arrested in Indore and jailed for 37 days for a joke he never made. Yet, he was booked for allegedly hurting religious sentiments. Quite how, no one explained. If that doesn’t make you laugh, you could cry.

The sessions court refused bail on two occasions. So did the MP High Court on the grounds that “such people must not be spared”. But what had he done? Remember, he never made the joke he was accused of. At best, the police were going by what others claimed were his intentions. No doubt this is why, 11 months later, they have yet to file a charge-sheet.

Eventually, the Supreme Court granted him bail, but the Indore jail authorities did their best to delay it. When he was released, it was from a back door at close to midnight. The irony is this could be the sort of satire Faruqui might entertain his audience with but it is, instead, the story of his life.

What I find most disillusioning is that while all this was happening, the prime minister kept completely silent. He calls himself our pradhan sewak and has sworn to “do right to all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will”. Yet, he’s permitted the most dreadful wrongs to be done to Faruqui without a murmur of disapproval. And, don’t forget, the governments of MP and Karnataka are run by his party.

For now, I fear, we might have crushed the spirit in Faruqui. “Hate has won, the artist has lost”, he’s tweeted. “I am done, goodbye”. I pray that’s only au revoir. I’ve got my fingers crossed.

But I’m still left with a thought I cannot banish: Did this happen to Faruqui because he’s Muslim?