In the last few days, there has been a sudden rise in anger against Indian standup comedians. Their past videos are going viral where they are seen mocking Hinduism, their gods, and their beliefs.

It is not shocking that all stand up comedians irrespective of their own religion or background choose only one religious group to mock. This thread has some of those viral clips https://twitter.com/nykmeister/status/1282917661135876096

Now at the outset, let me state that the anger may be justified but death and rape threats as a response to them can never be justified in any context or time. Not now, not ever.

So why this anger? There are many things. One reason is of course their selectivity. They have no problem mocking the most revered of gods in one religion but will not dare to do the same with others.

If sometimes they do try, they also immediately apologize.

It is because they know the consequences of joking about Ganesh vs say the Muhammad. In the case of Ganesh, they know that at max, they will get angry hashtags and threat messages which everyone will forget and move on. They also get to call themselves “Edgy” , “Cool” and “Brave”

But on the other hand, a joke on Prophet Muhammad or a cartoon has real-life deadly consequences. Once they deliver the joke, a countdown begins. We all know what happened to Charlie Hebodo and more recently to Kamlesh Tiwari.

In India, this is not a new thing. People have faced consequences for mocking the Prophet even before Independence. Read about this guy named Ilm-ud-din. In 1929, he murdered a Hindu publisher for publishing a book called Rangeela Rasool.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilm-ud-din 

Ilm-ud-din is a hero in Pakistan. He has a tomb where many go to pay respect. He is also glorified in Pakistani textbooks and films. A little trivia- He was defended in court by none other than Jinnah himself. The guy who wrote Sare Jahan Se Acha, Allama Iqbal also praised him.

Bollywood also understands this. In the movie PK, you remember this scene where Aamir Khan’s character is pasting photos of gods on the wall. You can see many Hindu gods, you can also see Jesus Christ but do you notice someone missing?

Even an Alien understands that if he draws a particular person, nobody will save him in the entire galaxy.

If you think the makers were playing it safe, they were not. They had no problem mocking one of the most revered Hindu gods in the next scene.

Think for a moment. A Muslim superstar understands that in a Hindu majority country he can get away with mocking their most revered god but if he dared to do the same for his own religion, this will be his last movie.

(h/t @greatbong)
Read his PK review https://greatbong.net/2014/12/25/pk-the-review/

My point, every one of these comedians or stars who pretend to be brave know that it is not an act of courage to mock or joke on Hinduism. It is also not “speaking truth to power” or “punching up” as they call it. This is straight-up bullying someone they know will not respond.

Also, note that they made these jokes and movies when apparently their own version of fascists were in power. Now suddenly, when those fascists are out of power in the state, they are lining up to apologize.

Now, let’s talk about the other aspect of this which is religion and the right to mock or hurt religious sentiment. My opinion is that Hindus should be proud of the fact Aamir Khan or any other standup comedian can fearlessly mock our gods without worrying about their lives.

At first, it would seem like a privilege or power if everyone is scared about mocking your religion but it is not. The fear of mocking your god will one day translate into fear of you and your existence. The same has happened with Muslims and Islam.

The fear of offending Muslims is why many avoid them. They can’t get houses. Nobody wants to discuss religion or for that matter politics with them openly. You think twice before saying anything before them. All for this one reason : “Faltu ka risk kyu le?”.

Big Bang Theory was the first American sitcom I saw with an Indian/Hindu character. It gave a good understanding of how Hindus are viewed outside India.

If you notice, the show never shies away from taking digs at Raj’s beliefs and his religion. He is also happy to play along.

Why is this important? It tells me that Americans may not know about Hindu beliefs and religion but they are not afraid to ask questions or to mock them.

India is not the only country in the world and Hindus are not the only religion. Someday you will have to live among those who don’t subscribe to your beliefs and you would want them to talk to you freely and ask questions without worrying about their lives.

I think of Hinduism as being in a library. The library has different sections, different books by different authors. You can choose to read whatever book you want. You can choose not to read anything at all. You can come anytime or leave anytime. Nobody cares.

Hinduism has survived for so long because it was open to change. Change comes when we can talk and we listen.

𝗪𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻.

𝗪𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘂𝗽.

𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗷𝗮𝗶𝗹.