Munawar Faruqui

Faruqui was born in Junagadh, Gujarat,[3][4] on 28 January 1992 to a Muslim family.[5][6] 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.[5][7]

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.[8][9]

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.[10][8]

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,[11] accusing him of making malicious jokes about Hindu deities and the Union Home Minister Amit Shah.[12] 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.[13] The accuser, Ekalavya Gaur, claimed to have overheard Faruqui rehearsing jokes that he was going to use in his act.[14] 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.[15] He was subsequently granted bail by the Supreme Court of India.[16]