The Jokes On Us
Comedy used to question power. Now it questions limits. A book that examines how political satire in India evolved from questioning power to becoming a trigger for offence.
3 Months
2025
Problem
Free speech in India has become a fragile space — a thin line between questioning authority and being labelled offensive or defamatory. People get triggered faster, tolerate less, and shut down voices they disagree with. The ones affected most are stand-up comedians, who package uncomfortable truths into humour — and are now criticised, censored, or silenced for the same craft they were once celebrated for.
Insight
Satire has always been our most accessible form of political commentary. It tells the truth in a way people can digest. When the country laughs less and reacts more, it reveals a cultural shift: humour is no longer a tool to question power, but a trigger for outrage. The joke hasn’t changed — our sensitivity has.
Big Idea
The Joke’s On Us is a book that traces how political satire in India has shifted from questioning power to provoking offence. It explores how stand-up, sketches, and parody once helped people understand the country, and how today the same humour is policed, debated, or silenced. By mapping this change in how we consume satire — from learning through it to reacting against it — the book aims to make at least one reader pause and rethink our evolving relationship with humour.
