After Spate Of Forced Cancellations, Munawar Faruqui Performs In Mumbai With Congress Help

Comedian Munawar Faruqui performed his stand up show 'Dongri To Nowhere' at the YB Chavan Auditorium on Sunday after being forced to cancel many of his shows across India due to threats by Hindu right-wing groups.

The All India Professional Congress (AIPC) wing of the Congress supported Faruqui organise the show. AIPC president Mathew Anthony told The Indian Express, "We wanted to support Munawar as a political stand, not him personally. Any artist or individual should have creative freedom without fear."

Faruqui was jailed in Indore early this year after being accused of hurting religious sentiments. He was since forced to cancel shows in Mumbai and Bengaluru after Hindu outfits threatened Faruqui and the owners of the venues he was to perform at.

Faruqui is also scheduled to perform in Kolkata in January with tickets for his show filling fast on the online ticketing portal BookMyShow.

Telangana IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao also invited Faruqui as well as fellow comedian Kunal Kamra to perform in Hyderabad saying, "In our city, stand-up comedians get an open invite. We do not cancel shows of Munawar Faruqui and Kunal Kamra just because we're not aligned with them politically."