Vilification of Indian Muslims: The method in the madness – By Ruben Banerjee

Munawar Faruqui makes people laugh for a living, but the 29-year-old stand-up comedian has recently lost his sense of humour. It started at the beginning of the year when the son of a legislator in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused him of denigrating Hindu gods prior to a comedy show in the city of Indore, central Madhya Pradesh. Faruqui was promptly arrested and sent to jail, where he spent a month. From there his troubles only mounted.

Right-wing activists who provide both muscle and vocal support to Modi, have been hot on his trail, forcing him to cancel shows in city after city. Most recently, in Raipur, a date was cancelled after members of Bajrang Dal, one of the most raucous Hindutva groups, threatened violent disruption.

Faruqui is not alone in having his life turned upside down. Many others in the country – mostly Muslims – are living such nightmares. This includes a poor bangle-seller who ‘strayed’ into a Hindu neighbourhood of Indore and was accosted by religious vigilantes. Badly beaten, he was then thrown into jail on a plethora of charges by an insensitive establishment that is increasingly seen to be condoning such mob justice. In a country as vast and populous as India, whose population is 1.3 billion, the targetting of minorities has reached alarming proportions….

This article originally appeared in TRT World.