Vir Das sparks online debate with tale of ‘two Indias’
A comic’s highly effective monologue addressing a few of India’s most delicate points together with rape and farmers’ protests has break up opinion within the nation, with right-wing activists calling for his arrest whereas supporters rally to his protection.
Comic Vir Das carried out “I come from two Indias” — a speech chronicling what he perceives because the nation’s twin character — on the John F. Kennedy Heart in Washington D.C., on November 12. A six-minute video of the speech uploaded to YouTube Monday has garnered greater than 850,000 views on the time of publishing.
“I come from an India the place we worship ladies throughout the day, however gang rape them at evening,” Das mentioned within the monologue.
“I come from an India the place we take satisfaction in being vegetarian, and but run over the farmers who develop our greens,” he added, referring to the deaths of at the least eight individuals final month when a automotive linked to a federal minister allegedly ran over a number of individuals throughout a protest towards controversial farm legal guidelines.
The hashtag #VirDas is trending in India, with greater than 60,000 tweets as of Wednesday afternoon.
Ashutosh Dubey, a authorized adviser to the ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Social gathering mentioned he filed a criticism with the Mumbai police Tuesday towards Das’ “inflammatory” feedback.
In a post to Twitter, Dubey accused Das of “defaming and spoiling the picture of India within the USA.”
Indian filmmaker Ashoke Pandit mentioned Das “ought to be instantly arrested” for his feedback.
“I see a terrorist on this man referred to as #VirDas,” he wrote on Twitter Tuesday, including Das ought to be “tried beneath terror legal guidelines.”
In an announcement posted to Twitter Tuesday, Das defended his monologue, including that he “takes satisfaction” in India.
“The video is a satire concerning the duality of two very separate Indias, that do various things,” he mentioned. “Like every nation has gentle and darkish, good and evil inside it. None of it is a secret.”
In the meantime, Das has acquired assist from a number of opposition politicians, journalists, and activists.
Shashi Tharoor, a lawmaker with the opposition Congress Social gathering, mentioned Das “spoke for tens of millions” in a post on Twitter.
“A slapstick comedian who is aware of the true which means of the time period ‘get up’ shouldn’t be bodily however ethical,” he mentioned.
One other Congress lawmaker, Kapil Sibal, additionally backed Das. “None can doubt that there are two India’s [sic]. Simply that we do not need an Indian to inform the world about it,” he wrote on Twitter Wednesday. “We’re illiberal and hypocritical.”
In current months, some Indian comedians have raised fears about what they are saying is an escalating crackdown on free speech by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s authorities.
Muslim comic Munawar Faruqui was arrested in January for allegedly making “indecent remarks” about Hindu gods, in accordance with CNN affiliate CNN-News18. Faruqui was granted bail by the Supreme Courtroom in February, News18 reported.
