Criticism will make India better. Let the Vir Dases & Kunal Kamras speak

Amid threats of violence over Kunal Kamra’s comedy, India once again debates freedom of speech. This 2021 piece by Chidanand Rajghatta, written during similar outrage against comedian Vir Das, argues why mature democracies must embrace—even celebrate—criticism and satire, highlighting comedy as essential for nation-building, not as a threat to national pride.

Stand-up Comedy and Irascible India

In a sparkling comedic career spanning more than half a century, stand-up superstar and social commentator George Carlin eviscerated America and Americans like no one before or after. From calling the United States a war-mongering nation full of bullshit and a country that was stolen, to torching the American obsession with marketing and advertising, mindless consumption, and over-the-top religion, Carlin was relentless in his critiques of the people and the country he was born unto, constantly questioning its self-professed greatness, and its commitment to economic, social and racial justice.