OPINION: The TWO INDIAS controversy: Why should you care?

NEW YORK — (Diya TV) On a brisk mid-November evening, Indian-born comedian Vir Das, walked into the historic Kennedy Center in New York. Standing in front of a full house, he began his monologue. He talked about the contrast and touched on many social issues in India, including womens rights, farmer rights, nationalism and poverty.  During his performance he was fully cognizant of the stage he stood on, the gravity and the scale of this stage was with him as he defined himself as an Indian, as he took ownership of ‘his two Indias’. 

“I represent a great thing, that is turning into a memory,” Das said as he was wrapping up the perfomance.

While the twittersphere reacted with equal amounts of duality, the controversy however is beyond just social media. Some Indian citizens living in India reacted with police complaints. 

I have filed the complaint against Vir Das Indian Comedian with @CPMumbaiPolice @MumbaiPolice for defaming & spoiling the image of India in the USA, which is inflammatory.

He wilfully spelled inciting & derogatory statements against India, Indian women, & the PM of India. pic.twitter.com/xQuLuGwGZv

— ADV. ASHUTOSH J. DUBEY 🇮🇳 (@AdvAshutoshBJP) November 16, 2021

Many lauded Das for his courage to speak about these issues, while others reacted in complete contrast questioning why Das would “insult India” in front of a white audience. After the backlash, Das tweeted a clarification.

🙏 pic.twitter.com/1xwR4Qp5Fw

— Vir Das (@thevirdas) November 16, 2021

But there is another response, that mainstream non-ethnic media glazes over, one that paints a different picture. A response by Sanil Gosavi, a Mumbai based entertainer, one with only 300 Twitter followers, nearly 5000 Insta followers, which pails in comparision to Vir Das’s storied career and his 7.8M Twitter & 1M Insta followers.

Gosavi’s twitter bio reads “My tweets might contain facts & opinions that will be offensive to wokes.”

Depending on where you align politically you may disagree with one these gentlemen, but the imporant distinction here is, Gosavi was born and raised in India and still resides there.

Das on the other hand was born in Dehradun, India but was raised in Nigeria, which much like India was colonized by the same crown and finally became a free nation in 1960, thirteen years after India gained its independence. Das went on to then attend Delhi Public school and later graduated from Knox College in Illinois and spent at year at Harvard University. After graduating from Knox, Das was accepted into the Stanislavsky Program of the Moscow Arts Theatre. And until most recently lived in New York till he decided to sell his house and travel.

So what it comes down to is, whose Indian duality do you agree with and why you should care. I care because I see a change. A change in the way the next generation of Indian citizens now refuse take insults lying down. A change where being Indian doesn’t always have to begin with first apologizing for your country’s shortcomings and only then daring to even touch upon its greatness. A change where Indian citizens demand the same dignity afforded to other world citizens, despite their imperfections. 

So, while Das maybe spending more time in America or travelling the world, the unapologetic Gosavi is ironically more American in his spirit.