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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Amrit Dhillon in New Delhi

Has India lost its sense of humour? Critics point to rise of deference after mimicry row

Members of the Jat and OBC communities protest after the ‘insult’ against vice-president Jagdeep Dhankar, who was impersonated by an opposition MP, on 20 December in New Delhi.
Protests in New Delhi after the opposition MP Kalyan Banerjee impersonated India’s vice-president, Jagdeep Dhankar. Photograph: Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times/Getty Images

It is rare for India’s politicians to laugh at themselves, but a row over an act of mimicry has exposed the extent of the lack of humour and intolerance of satire in the country’s political and public life.

Over the past two weeks, politicians have traded insults over an impersonation of India’s vice-president, Jagdeep Dhankhar, by the opposition MP Kalyan Banerjee.

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