Munawar Faruqui’s Bengaluru show also cancelled; ‘hate won, I’m done,’ says comedian

New Delhi, Nov 28: Standup comedian Munawar Faruqui’s scheduled show in Bengaluru on Sunday evening has been cancelled as the city police asked the organisers to call it off citing ‘law and order’ issues and termed him a ‘controversial figure’.
Munawar Faruqui was supposed to perform at Good Shepherd Auditorium at 5 pm with his show titled ‘Dongri to Nowhere’. Siddharth Dash, one of the organisers of the programme, confirmed to The Indian Express that the show had been cancelled after they had received threats and the police had denied permission to hold it.
Meanwhile, in a social media post, Faruqui said, “Nafrat jeet gayi, artist haar gaya (hate has won, artist has lost). I’m done, goodbye. Injustice.” Earlier this year, Faruqui spent a month in jail on charges of “insulting Hindu gods and goddesses” during one of his comedy shows. Many previously scheduled shows of the comedian in other cities were also cancelled over the last few months.
A letter was sent by the Ashok Nagar police on Saturday to the Curtain Call, the organisers of the show. “It is learnt that cases have been registered against him (Munawar Faruqui) in several states. There is credible information that several organisations oppose this standup comedy show and this could create chaos and could disturb the public peace and harmony which may further lead to law and order problems,” it said.
A senior police officer said: “Munawar Faruqui is a controversial figure and many states have banned his shows. He has been banned for making controversial statements against a specific religion. The organisers gave a letter on 15 November seeking police protection (for the show) and we have cancelled it.”
Meanwhile, activist Vinay Srinivas said that the police putting pressure on organisers to cancel the show violated freedom of speech and expression.