Hate has won, artist has lost, says comedian Munawar Faruqui

Comedian Munawar Faruqui today took to Instagram to announce that he may not do any more shows after at least 12 of his shows were cancelled in the last two months. All shows faced threats from right-wing groups.

He wrote on Instagram: "Nafrat jeet gayi, artist haar gaya (hate has won, the artist has lost). I'm done, goodbye. Injustice." Faruqui spent nearly a month in jail earlier this year on charges of "insulting Hindu gods and goddesses".

Some fans responded to the post asking him to not give up. Music composer Mayur Jumani commented, "Nope. You're not quitting. We won't let you."

His last show to be cancelled was in Bengaluru. After Mohan Gowda of the Hindu Jagran Samiti in Bengaluru said they wouldn't allow the show to be held, the city police wrote to the organiser Good Shepherd auditorium, calling Faruqui a "controversial figure." The show "Dongri to Nowhere" was cancelled due to threats of vandalism. They had sold over 600 tickets for the event.

He wrote on Instagram that his team had contacted late actor Puneeth Rajkumar's charity organisation and promised to donate the money generated in the show to the organisation. The organisation suggested not to sell the show using the actor's name.

He added that it is unfair to put him in jail for a joke that has nothing problematic in it. "This show has gained so much love from people in India irrespective of their religion. We do have a censor certificate of the show, and it's clearly nothing problematic in the show."

"We called off 12 shows in the last two months because of threats to the venue and audience. I think this is the end. My name is Munawar Faruqui and that's been my time. You guys were a wonderful audience. Goodbye, I'm done," wrote the comedian.