Political satire is nothing new in India. But when does humour cross the line into "defamation” or "offence"—and who gets to decide?
A viral clip from Kunal Kamra’s stand-up show at Mumbai’s Habitat Centre set off a chain reaction—Shiv Sena workers vandalised the venue, claiming Kamra was mocking Eknath Shinde. Except—Shinde’s name was never mentioned. So, what exactly was the vandalism based on? And more importantly, where does the law stand on this?
Many critics have argued that Kamra’s association with opposition parties and his campaigning for them could be seen as targeted.
Except—Shinde’s name was never mentioned. So, what exactly was the vandalism based on? And more importantly, where does the law stand on this?
Watch the full video to know more.
Reporter: Rani Jana
Camera: Tribhuvan Tiwari and Vikram Sharma
Editor: Sudhanshu
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A viral clip from Kunal Kamra’s stand-up show at Mumbai’s Habitat Centre set off a chain reaction—Shiv Sena workers vandalised the venue, claiming Kamra was mocking Eknath Shinde. Except—Shinde’s name was never mentioned. So, what exactly was the vandalism based on? And more importantly, where does the law stand on this?
Many critics have argued that Kamra’s association with opposition parties and his campaigning for them could be seen as targeted.
Except—Shinde’s name was never mentioned. So, what exactly was the vandalism based on? And more importantly, where does the law stand on this?
Watch the full video to know more.
Reporter: Rani Jana
Camera: Tribhuvan Tiwari and Vikram Sharma
Editor: Sudhanshu
Follow us:
Website: https://www.outlookindia.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Outlookindia
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outlookindia/
X: https://twitter.com/Outlookindia
Whatsapp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaNrF3v0AgWLA6OnJH0R
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@OutlookMagazine
Dailymotion: https://www.dailymotion.com/outlookindia
#KunalKamra #PoliticalSatire #FreedomOfSpeech #EknathShinde #ShivSena #DefamationLaws #StandUpComedy #Mumbai #IndianPolitics #LegalDebate #Censorship
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NewsTranscript
00:00Does this make you laugh or make you want to file an FIR?
00:19This viral clip from Kunal Kamra's stand-up show at Mumbai's Habitat Centre set off a
00:24chain reaction.
00:26Shiv Sena workers vandalised the venue, claiming Kamra was mocking Eknath Shinde.
00:32Except, Shinde's name was never mentioned.
00:35So what exactly was the vandalism based on?
00:38And more importantly, where does the law stand on this?
00:42Welcome to Deep Dive with Outlook.
00:44Today, we'll discuss censorship in humour and comedy.
00:48Political satire is nothing new in India, but when does humour cross the line into defamation
00:55or offence, and who gets to decide?
00:57I come from an India where journalism is supposedly dead because men in fancy suits in studios
01:03give each other handjobs, and yet women on the road with laptops are still telling the
01:07truth.
01:08In 2021, Vedas' stand-up show, 2 India's, a satire of the country's contradiction, was
01:15followed by police complaints.
01:17But was he breaking the law or just exercising free speech?
01:21Rahul, your time won't come.
01:27Yes, you're kind of cute and fine, but your brain is on rewind.
01:33The same comedian recently said former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was aware of jokes
01:39made at his expense.
01:51Over a decade ago, the YouTube show Jai Hind, known for its political skits, suddenly stopped
01:59uploading content.
02:00Cut to today, comedians like Nalin Yadav and Munawar Farooqui were jailed in 2021 for allegedly
02:08hurting religious sentiments, despite their claims that they never even made the joke
02:13in question.
02:14With Kamra's latest controversy, one question looms large – could Kamra face legal action
02:21for his joke?
02:22Many critics have argued that Kamra's association with opposition parties and his campaigning
02:28for them could be seen as targeted.
02:31This is what the Supreme Court lawyer Shahrukh Alam had to say.
02:35If it were politically motivated, which is the allegation against Kamra, it's still not
02:41an offence.
02:42Even if he sat with the opposition, whoever they are, and wrote his script together with
02:47them, even then it's not an offence because in doing that, right, what you're actually
02:54doing is again expanding the scope of blasphemy, you're suggesting that the opposition is blaspheming
03:00against these political figures by making fun together with Kunal Kamra.
03:05And you're also suggesting that these figures now embody state security, and you can't even
03:10make fun of them.
03:12So legally, even if the opposition has written the script and given it to Kunal Kamra, it's
03:17not an offence.
03:19Indian state's crackdown on free speech isn't just limited to political satire.
03:24Recently, YouTuber Ranveer Alabadia was given a gag order after making obscene remarks.
03:31Even beyond stand-up, a century-old Tamil magazine, Wicketin, faced government action
03:37over a political cartoon.
03:39This brings us to a much bigger legal dilemma – how does the law differentiate between
03:44offensive humour and hate speech?
03:48Hate speech is really a majoritarian problem.
03:51Somebody on the margins can't indulge in hate speech against somebody who's in power.
03:56That's the nature of hate speech, it's to do with power.
04:00But law has not gone that line yet.
04:02The backlash against satire raises a bigger question, not just for comedians, but for
04:08everyone who values free speech and artistic expression.
04:13Amit Dharao, the Supreme Court on Friday, said,
04:16Literature, including poetry, dramas, films, stage shows, including stand-up comedy, satire
04:23and art, make the lives of human beings more meaningful.
04:27The courts are duty-bound to uphold and enforce fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution
04:34of India.
04:35If even the Supreme Court recognises the value of satire and artistic expression, can we
04:41hope for a future where humour is embraced rather than punished?
04:46Stay tuned with Outlook for more such explainers.