Munawar Faruqi takes his jokes too far and I wouldn’t blame the
political party if they took offence to his jokes. His comedy is nothing
respectful or even actually funny. There was a time in the middle of the
pandemic where I remember that he was jailed for one of his “jokes”. I do
understand that the show also sold out and was looking to be a success but i
can’t stand him or his “fans”. He always offends someone or something which I
don’t think should be included in comedy. Saying offence things and expecting
someone not to get offended is stupid. It has nothing to do with freedom of
speech if you’re disrespecting someone/ something, insulting someone to get a
few laughs is ridiculously wrong in this century.
– Shimron Nathan, Student, Porvorim
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It is indeed
unfortunate that such incidents have been happening. Comedy, at it’s very base
is meant for tickling the ribs and is to be taken in with a pinch of salt.
Nonetheless, we cannot ignore the fact that stand up comedy can be interpreted
differently by different sects of people. While personally, I am a huge fan of
stand up comedy and have attended many shows of various artists in the past, I
believe that in the larger interest of society, a balance needs to be
maintained so that everyone is happy or at least reaches a middle ground.
Taking offence to comedy takes away the very essence of its purpose. Hence,
balance is vital here.
– Ameya Nayak, Academic, Panjim
Politics is far
more amusing than comedy. The question here should be, should the elections be
cancelled and a comedy festival be held instead?
– Colin D Cruz, Musician, Sangolda
Upcoming
entertainment shows should not be cancelled due to anyone, may it be a
political group or just the common public. However, I feel sometimes one needs
to make a wiser decision than a desirable one. In the interest of one’s own
safety as well as to not let people hurt themselves due to them (like they did
by threatening of mass suicide), shows could be postponed or have security to
avoid harm.
– Mrunalini Pai, Student, Vasco
It’s ridiculous.
Not a bunch of clowns will decide if we can even laugh or not. To me, being
offended sounds like a personal problem and the 500 people who threatened to
burn themselves should be allowed to do whatever they please with their bodies.
– Shruti Chaturvedi, Media entrepreneur, Panjim
Not just tiatr,
even the soFreedom of speech is under attack and innocent people are falsely
being arrested and even incarcerated. Such acts by the State are
unconstitutional. Even the right to protest has been held to be a Fundamental
Right. Courts have zealously guarded the rights of the citizens. Cancellation
of any event, at the behest of some objections – whether of a fringe group or
otherwise, is unacceptable. The State cannot allow itself to be held hostage to
such elements. The action of the State in cancelling the event or any function,
when being organised by someone not liked by the Government, using one excuse
or another is highly suspect and can be viewed as State’s complicity in
grounding the event.
– Carlos Alvares Ferreira, Legal Advocate, Margao
ngs are openly
political. Hence the government of the day should support the freedom of
expression and not allow any groupings to curtail it. This is the essence of a
healthy and vibrant democracy. Laughter is an ingredient of life
– Savia Veigas, Writer, Carmona
The right to
freedom of speech and expression which has been guaranteed in the Constitution
of India comes with a rider in the form of Reasonable Restrictions under
Article 19(2) that places fetters on the extent and scope of the fundamental
freedoms. Therefore, if a particular show has been cancelled under the
assumption that the views being expressed therein propagate ideologies that are
not in keeping with the social fabric of the community, then a cancellation may
be justified. These measures still remain in the discretionary realm of the
police administration of a given region and state. The relevant aspect here
would be to maintain public peace and security by restricting the dissemination
of content that would otherwise be contradictory to the moral values of a given
place owing to its communal background laced in traditions and customs.
India after all tries to maintain its Unity in Diversity rather
than to provoke divergent opinions from creating a divide in a well amalgamated
society.
– Moses Pinto, Advocate, Margao
It’s so sad
that the Munawar Faruqui show was cancelled! We have freedom of speech and any
humour is good humour. Political parties shouldn’t take it as an offence and
make it look like a criminal act. Let there be a sense of humour in all corners
of India.
– Milroy Goes, Film Director, Cuncolim
