Humorously Political
The 2019 elections are just around the corner and the entire world is looking at India. Once again, the dinner tables and WhatsApp groups across the country have become a hotspot for political debates.
One of the most remarkable features of the Modi regime is how the government never fazed away from the minds of people. Whether it was the beef ban or lynching by cow vigilantes or Modi’s frequent International tours and the grand demonetisation ceremony, this eponymous political saga never left our minds.
Whether or not the common man was happy with the government’s unpredictable moves, the News channels certainly rejoiced as they got enough meat to run headlines on prime-time television. However, the panel discussions broadcasted on our idiot boxes, mostly seem like a vicious circle where the panelists just beat around the bush and seldom express clear opinions.
As I often found myself in the midst of hot discussions around the 2019 elections and most of the times not having a clear opinion, I decided to get a bit politically woke. Surprisingly, on my quest to understand the great Indian political circus I ditched the obvious sources and retreated to humorous stand-up routines by comedians.
The likes of Kunal Kamra, Hasan Minhaj and Trevor Noah are not only taking a jibe at the political fiascos but also explaining it with accurate facts. They are not just plotting jokes but dissecting the chaos and presenting a reasonable argument.
One of the reasons for this could be the ease with which humour makes everything interesting. Whether you are having the time of your lives or just floating in gloomy days a hearty laugh is welcomed by everyone. Another reason for the rise in political comedy could be irrelevance of news channels. The ever-screaming news channel hosts with a roundtable of 3–4 debaters spending hours discussing something with no outcome are disdained by fellow content consumers. While there are few explainer publications that are doing a commendable job of explaining news, most channels on TV are just full of commotion or just mediocre reporting.
Comedians, on the other hand, are wearing double hats of being a comedian and an explainer medium for various on-going events. The recent episode on Hasan Minhaj’s comedy show, Patriot Act, gives an overview of two leading opposition parties in India who are pitted against each other for 2019 elections. He starts by talking about the problematic ultra-nationalist propaganda of one party and then goes onto explain the jaw-dropping financial scams of the other. He doesn’t shun away from explaining the dark sides of the two biggest political rivals in the country. In a span of roughly 30 minutes, he adequately explains Pulwama attack, how Hindu nationalism is inhibiting Indian constitution’s idea of secularism and the right-wing ideologies of RSS. I am sure, for news channels this content is worth one month of unending debates that may or may not help us with understanding these issues.
It’s not just a good stand-up but a lesson on how to present an unbiased argument. During this monologue, Minhaj often pauses to say ‘Hasan Minhaj is paid by …’ reminding us how we tend to dissolve logical arguments with illogical reasoning. This hilarious yet subtle dig reminds us that in a race to prove our side of the argument right, we end up asserting insane and false allegations.
Though comedians just touch the surface of rather much-layered controversies and also come across as taking sides, their arguments do make sense. I am not dissing the publications who are doing commendable work in investigative journalism. But only comedians like Hasan Minhaj can inject a dose of laughter while explaining prevailing issues in theworld that is already plunged in darkness.
