Munawar Faruqui

Munawar Faruqui
Born/Date of Birthday: 28 January 1992
Place of Birth: Junagadh, Gujarat, India
Medium: Stand-up comedy
Genres: Satire, character comedy
Subject(s): Bollywood, Indian culture Satire, everyday life

Munawar Iqbal Faruqui (born 28 January 1992) is an Indian stand-up comedian, writer and rapper.

Early life
Faruqui was born in Junagadh, Gujarat, on 28 January 1992 to a Muslim family. Due to the impact of the 2002 Gujarat riots, in 2007 he, along with his family (his father and his three sisters), shifted to Dongri, Mumbai, to make a fresh start.

At the age of 17, he was compelled to work for his family when his father fell sick. He worked at a utensil store while attending school.

In his early twenties, he worked as a graphic designer. In 2017, when various OTT platforms were introducing in India he became aware of comedy and he began working as a comedian.

Arrest
Faruqui was on his all-India tour where he was performing comedy in different cities. On 1 January 2021, he performed a stand-up show at Munro Cafe in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, which was interrupted by Eklavya Singh Gaur, son of BJP MLA Malini Gaur and member of Hind Rakshak Sangathan, accusing him of making malicious jokes about Hindu deities and the Union Home Minister Amit Shah. On 2 January, he was arrested by Madhya Pradesh Police in the midst of his comic act. The police said that he was arrested on charges under Section 295-A, Section-298, Section-269, Section-188 and Section-34 of the Indian Penal Code. The accuser, Ekalavya Gaur, claimed to have overheard Faruqui rehearsing jokes that he was going to use in his act. His arrest was heavily criticized for not respecting a comedian's freedom of speech, including by a joint initiative of the global Indian diaspora on 2 February 2021, that said a group of South Asian American stand-up comedians will perform a virtual comedy show on 6 February 2021 to show their solidarity with jailed Faruqui. He was subsequently granted bail by the Supreme Court of India.