New Delhi: The world is taking note of how India is treating Kunal Kamra. The comedian’s case is seen as a worrying precedent for how such incidents will be dealt world over.
“If a star of the Indian comedy scene can be silenced and ruthlessly attacked for his jokes, anyone can,” Julie Trebault said, executive director of Artists at Risk Connection (ARC), an international organisation under PEN America. The collective stands as a bulwark against the oppression of artists across the globe. “The results of this case will set an important precedent. The persecution of Kamra opens the door for possible cases and legal harassment of comics for their speech,” Trebault told ThePrint.
This is the first time the organisation has taken a stand in favour of an Indian comedian. They largely receive requests for assistance from artists in countries like Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Myanmar and Russia. Their work entails providing artists with immediate assistance –– such as legal aid and housing –– as well as research and advocacy that focuses on global solidarity in matters of art.
The comedian and political satirist Kamra is currently involved in a legal and political fracas, following his show at the Habitat in Mumbai. The club was ransacked by workers of the Shiv Sena Shinde faction –– after Kamra’s thinly veiled comments on former Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde. His persecution is raising eyebrows worldwide, as India’s stance on artistic freedom comes into question once again in the BJP’s third term in power.
Among comedic circles in the American diaspora, however, few have taken notice of what’s transpired with Kamra.
“I don’t think comedians in America are paying enough attention to what’s going on in India, not even the NRI comedians,” said Aakash Singh, a comedian based in New York, host of the Flagrant podcast. “But what I hope we have learnt is that we still have freedom of speech in America.”
Singh has been vocal –– posting on social media in support of Kamra to his 800k followers.
“I’ve never met an entertainer who can walk the talk more than Kunal. Y’all can hate him if you want but he is as authentic as it gets,” he shared.
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Troubling times ahead
Trebault said that since 2017, ARC’s founding year, what she has realised is that “no country is impervious to affronts to artistic freedom.”
“Politically and socially engaged art is under threat the world over—and even in digital spaces,” she explained. “Whether or not governments have grown more thin-skinned, the lack of international frameworks protecting artists and challenges for civil society in supporting and advocating for artists at risk has surely emboldened malicious actors, state and non-state, to silence those who think and create differently.”
As the world reels from the repercussions that have come with Donald Trump’s second term as US President, Amber Ruffin’s story has gone unnoticed in India, a political expert known for her use of humour. Ruffin’s skit at the White House Correspondent’s dinner was cancelled for fear of “upsetting Donald Trump”.
While the stakes and the backlash are dramatically different for Kamra, Trebault said that Ruffin’s exclusion from the event also points to a disturbing trend.
“Kamra’s experience represents direct, state-led repression of artistic expression by political figures and their allies. Ruffin’s case illustrates how institutional self-censorship is increasingly being used to silence voices perceived as critical of those in power; underscoring a chilling climate for dissent in both overt and subtle forms,” she said.
While the US has never seen a case like Kamra’s, ARC does predict troubling teams ahead — wherein artists could be similarly persecuted for criticising those in power.
Aakash Singh’s take on affairs—as a comedian working in the US—was different.
“What Kamra’s facing is very different from what would happen under Trump. It’s such a fundamental right in the US, so even if there are levels of censorship, I can’t see it reaching that point,” he said.
In the past, Singh’s also performed at The Habitat. He referred to it as a space unlike any other, for which there are no equivalents abroad.
“He [Balraj, the owner] cultivated a space that really loved comedy and encouraged different forms and that’s so rare. I can’t think of a single club in the US that’s as nurturing,” he said.
Currently, he doesn’t feel safe performing in India, unless the “outrage culture” calms down.
“In America, cancelling means that you might lose a TV show. In India, it’s a very different thing. You might go to jail,” he said. “I don’t understand the political workings of India, but I do understand stand-up comedy better than most people.”
(Edited by Ratan Priya)