Comedian Vir Das’ show in Bengaluru nixed after protest by Hindu activists

BENGALURU: Comedian Vir Das’s show, which was to be held at the Chowdaiah Memorial Hall in Malleswaram, has been cancelled after stiff opposition from the Hindu Janajagriti Samiti. Two shows were planned to be held, but now, both have been cancelled.

Hindu Janagriti Samiti members staging a protest in front of Chowdaiah Memorial Hall on Thursday morning.

Earlier in the day, Hindu Janajagriti Samiti activists gathered in front of Chowdaiah Memorial Hall insisting that they will not let the shows go on. When the police tried to evict the protesters, a war of words ensued.

Bengaluru Ganeshotsava Samiti general secretary Prakash Raj said, “In the name of comedy, Vir Das has been insulting Lord Ram, Sita and Lakshman. He is a traitor and we don’t want such programmes in Bengaluru”.

The activists and the police got into a scuffle.

“The anti-Hindu comedian’s show has been cancelled. The Hindu Janajagriti Samiti and the Sri Rama Sena had lodged a complaint against Vir Das for denigrating Hindus. We staged a protest since morning and as a result, the shows have been cancelled”, said Mohan Gowda of the Samiti.

On Monday, the Hindu Janajagriti Samiti had lodged a complaint against Vir Das for his alleged derogatory remarks and demanded cancellation of his stand-up comedy programme scheduled for November 10, as his shows “hurt religious sentiments of Hindus and show India in a bad light to the world.”

The police tried to physically remove the activists from the spot.

In a complaint to the Vyalikaval police, the Samiti leaders said that they had information that Vir Das, an Indian-American comedian, is holding a show at Chowdaiah Memorial Hall in Malleswaram .

They said that earlier he had made derogatory statements against women, and the Prime Minister and India at the John F Kennedy Centre in Washington DC, America, and denigrated the nation.

The activists were evicted by the police, but they continued with their protest.

“The comedian had said that in India, we worship women during the day and rape them at night during the performance”, they claimed while adding that a case was also registered by the Mumbai police in this regard. It is a serious offence under the Indian Penal Code, they said.

They said that it was not right to allow such a controversial person to hold a programme in a communally sensitive area like Bengaluru. “When Karnataka is already facing many law and order problems due to communal incidents, such events could vitiate the law and order and should not be allowed. We demand that this program should be cancelled immediately,” Samiti state spokesperson Mohan Gowda said in a complaint. (With Agency inputs)