A young stand-up comic with an infectious grin, Munawar Faruqui has made a name for himself on India’s comedy circuit in recent years by delivering sharp-edged satire with a boyish, unassuming stage presence.
Yet along with appreciative fans, the millennial Muslim comedian also caught the attention of Hindu zealots, who resent his casual references to Hindu deities, allusions to deadly anti-Muslim riots and barbs about leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata party.
In Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “New India”, such irreverence can carry a heavy price. On New Year’s Day in the prosperous city of Indore, Faruqui was beginning a show when Hindu vigilantes, led by the son of a BJP state legislator, disrupted the performance and hustled him off to a police station.
Faruqui, 30, and four other comics were arrested on charges of violating a British colonial-era law that makes it a criminal offence to “deliberately outrage the religious feelings of any community”.
For the next 36 days, Faruqui sat in jail, his bail application thrice rejected by lower courts, with one judge declaring it is “the constitutional duty of every citizen to promote brotherhood and harmony”.
He was finally freed late on Saturday night, more than 36 hours after India’s Supreme Court ordered he be granted bail. But the ordeal of the young comic — whose family home was destroyed in Gujarat’s 2002 communal riots — is far from over.
Faruqui now faces a protracted legal battle fighting criminal charges in both Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, a state ruled by the radical Hindu cleric Yogi Adityanath, a BJP stalwart. His fellow comics remain in jail.
Even if he is acquitted, Faruqui’s travails send a chilling message to other comedians — especially those from India’s Muslim minority — planning to riff on India’s contemporary politics or social life. They joke at their peril, as the ruling party and its zealous Hindu supporters are watching.
India’s many sweeping colonial-era criminal statutes — which make it a crime to deliberately offend people’s religious feelings or promote enmity between communities — give authorities plenty of legal tools to apply pressure on critical voices.
“Faruqui’s case shouldn’t be seen in isolation,” says Akash Banerjee, a popular political satirist. “It is part of the gradual creeping control over any sort of dissent. Today, talking about religion is off the table. Tomorrow, criticising any politician will be off the table because in India, politicians are demigods.”
Comics aren’t the only ones feeling the heat. Police in five BJP-ruled states have filed criminal charges against a senior Indian executive from Amazon’s video streaming services and a clutch of Bollywood film personalities over a scene in a new Amazon Prime mini-series, Tandav, in which students in a college play portray Hindu gods discussing politics.
Though the scene was deleted after an uproar, the Supreme Court rebuffed the filmmakers’ plea for protection from arrest, saying their constitutional right to free speech did not extend to hurting people’s religious feelings.
In court, actor Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, who played a student acting the part of Lord Shiva, argued he should not be punished for dialogue uttered while in character. But Judge MR Shah — who has praised Modi as India’s “most popular, loved, vibrant and visionary leader” — disagreed, saying the actor had read the script before signing up for the role.
Journalists are also under fire, with three BJP-ruled states filing charges of sedition and instigation of violence against a clutch of prominent journalists and Congress party parliament member Shashi Tharoor for tweets — whose accuracy was later contested — about the death of a farmer in recent protests.
Taken together, the recent flurry of high-profile legal cases are a stark warning to Indian public figures, including in the media and the arts, about the potential price of sharp political critique.
“One has to be very careful in the times in which we live,” says Banerjee. “Everything can be misconstrued. The law book is open for anyone to misuse.”
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
