A university in Gujarat’s Vadodara has cancelled a campus show by stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra after some former students claimed he was “anti-national”, The Indian Express reported on Monday. The show was scheduled for August 11 in the campus auditorium of MS University.
“We informed Kamra verbally on Saturday night about the cancellation of his show,” Rakesh Modi, the coordinator of the CC Mehta Auditorium, told the daily. “We were informed about his content being anti-national and controversial, so we went ahead with this decision. Since it is Sunday, we will make an official announcement tomorrow.”
In a letter to the university’s vice chancellor, 11 alumni had said they suspected “some ideological conspiracy to pollute the minds of Barodian youth ahead of 2019 [General Elections]”.
“What message do we want to convey by organising such anti-national flagbearer youth comedians’ [sic] comedy show in Gujarat’s most prestigious university campus?” the letter said, according to The Indian Express. “I am not writing the name of the comedian as he doesn’t even deserve the popularity by our mention in this mail.”
The letter requested the university to cancel the show. “He has mimicked national anthem, he has openly supported Tukde-Tukde Gang, he is opposed by all the nation-loving universities in the nation, then why are we allowing him to enter our sacred alma mater?”
Unidentified officials in the university told the daily that the vice chancellor had asked the auditorium coordinator to take a final call based on the presentation made by the group of alumni.
In a tweet on Sunday, Kamra wrote: “Ever been so cool that you find out from the news that you’re not going to be working on a particular day? Celebrating my day off in the future on my day off today.”
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