Watch how one comedian’s hesitation reveals a bigger truth about freedom of speech in India. From banned songs to arrests over cartoons and Facebook posts, this video traces decades of censorship.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00If I do stand-up political comedy, how would you feel?
00:03Me?
00:04Yes.
00:05I would feel good. It would be fun.
00:06Yes, so for your personal pleasure, I will not spoil my career.
00:09In India, freedom of speech is sacred unless it offends someone powerful.
00:14Yes, so for your personal pleasure, I will not spoil my career.
00:17In the 1970s, Kishore Kumar songs were banned from all India radio
00:21after he refused to participate in a musical program aimed at promoting government schemes.
00:26Sanjay Gandhi of the Congress was to blame for that one.
00:29In 2012, cartoonist Aseem Trivedi was jailed because his cartoon mocked political corruption.
00:34That same year in Mumbai, Shaheen Dhada posted a Facebook comment questioning the city shutdown
00:40after Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray's death, advocating instead to honour freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh.
00:46She and her friend Renu Srinivasan, who merely liked the post,
00:50were swiftly arrested under Section 66A, sparking nationwide fury.
00:54The Supreme Court had to intervene, eventually dismissing the charges, another clear abuse of power.
00:59In 2018, renowned Carnatic singer T.M. Krishna found his concert abruptly cancelled
01:04by right-wing groups upset by his outspoken political views.
01:07In 2020, Mumbai witnessed a shocking assault on retired Navy officer Madan Sharma
01:12whose only crime was sharing a cartoon mocking then-Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray.
01:17That same year, Sameer Thakkar learned the hard way about humour limits in Maharashtra
01:22after calling Uddhav Thackeray's son, Aditya, a baby penguin online.
01:26Thacker faced multiple FIRs, arrests and jail time,
01:29turning the hashtag baby penguin into a trending solidarity cry against censorship.
01:34Actress Ketaki Chitle faced even harsher consequences in 2022
01:37for sharing a poem critical of Sharad Pawar,
01:40landing her over 40 days in jail and 22 FIRs before the Bombay High Court intervened.
01:45In 2025, comedian Kunal Kamra was under fire for a joke about Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde
01:51as outrage grew and old video of poet Rahat Indore resurfaced.
01:56At a Mushaira during the emergency, he recalls reading the line,
02:00Sarkar Chor Hai.
02:01When police questioned him, he replied,
02:03I didn't say which government.
02:05The cop snapped, saying,
02:07You think we don't know?
02:08If even a joke needs police approval, what does that say about free speech in India?
02:12Let us know in the comments.