Vir Das: Indian comedian polarizes country with story of ‘two Indians’

Comedian Vir Das performed”I come from two India“—a speech documenting what he considers the country’s dual personality—at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington DC, on Nov. 12. A six-minute video of the speech is uploaded. YouTube on Monday amassed more than 850,000 views at the time of publication.

“I come from India where we pride ourselves on being vegetarian, but run after our vegetable farmers,” he added, referring to the death of at least eight people last month when a car linked to a federal minister allegedly ran over several people during a protest against the controversial farm law.

Ashutosh Dubey, legal counsel for the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, said he filed a complaint with Mumbai police on Tuesday against Das’ “inciting” comments.

Indian filmmaker Ashoke Pandit said that Das “should be arrested immediately” for his comments.

In a statement posted on Twitter on Tuesday, Das defended his monologue, adding that he was “proud” of India.

“The video is a satire about the duality of two very separate Indias, doing different things,” he said. “Like any nation there is light and darkness, good and evil within it. None of this is a secret.”

Meanwhile, Das has gained support from a number of politicians, journalists and opposition activists.

“A stand-up comedian knows the true meaning of the term ‘stand up’ is not physical but moral,” he said.

Another Congressman, Kapil Sibal, also supported Das. “No one can doubt that there are two [sic]. It’s just that we don’t want an Indian telling the world about it,” he wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. We are intolerant and hypocritical. “

In recent months, several Indian comedians have raised concerns about what they say is an escalating crackdown on free speech by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.