The standup comics in India gained great prominence where upper caste comics have been

credited for their woke political commentary in an otherwise “apolitical” pop-cultural scene
which preferred to appease the status quo. Many of them have huge following in democratized
web spaces and alt-media platforms. Comedy scene in its core remains an urban upper caste
millennial landscape of social hierarchies and exclusions.

Gursimranjeet Khamba, the other co-founder of AIB, was one of the anti-reservation Group
representatives who met the then President- Dr. Abdul Kalam to present a petition against
reservations. The best joke is naming the group “youth for equality” whose lone agenda is
anti-reservation protests in lynchland of inequalities. . He has acknowledged the caste politics of
mayawati jokes once in an interview to newslaundry. But, that hasn’t stopped tanmay bhat and
ashish shakya ,comics associated with AIB to performing those jokes.

Gursimranjeet casually joked about the film “sairat” by Nagraj Manjule saying “ whats new ?
this happens every day..Nothing surprising in the story why are critics finding it so great. Ye to
roz hota hae , yeah but the music was nice”. The other dudebros of AIB under patronage of hot
star laughed at it. I have lost the count how upper caste people reinforce their delusional caste
superiority by essentialising caste oppression by saying “this happens every day” and avoiding
fixing accountability by sidelining the topic of intergenerational wealth or caste reparations. The
privilege of his caste clearly reflects in his statement. An upper caste male in an urban setting
and alma mater of TISS callously talking about brutal reality faced by dalit bahujans for loving
and marrying across castes. So does his liberal opportunism of critiquing unequal power
dynamics of caste jokes at newslaudry panel years ago but continuing to re-enforce caste,
distancing from his youth for equality days and shielding his work of his bros as co-founder of
AIB. Millennial anthem with respect to caste : Accept your privilege if a space demands that but
don’t challenge the status quo.

Karunesh talwar joked on skin tone jokes projected at a heckler but comparing her appearance to
serena willaims skin tone in bright colors at AIB podcast but did a set to critique fairness creams
post kangana ranaut refused fairness ads. His jokes have undercurrent of brahminical,
white-allied patriarchy stratifying women’s worth according to their skin tones. But, he has that
set of fairness creams to waive him off.

Sorabh Pant saying, “ Mayawati will ask in quota this too”.

Their follow count constitutes woke warriors of social media. Blue tick holding vehicles of
newly sprung up alt-media websites who tweet their reportage on caste based atrocities, sexual
violence on DalitBahujan women, wish happy birthday to savitri bai phule with a blue heart
emoji and amplify these casteist comics simultaneously. There was outrage among upper caste
millennial feminists on all male comic cover for not including female comics as if they have not
capitalized on caste and gender hatred projected at Dalit bahujan women. There isn’t a upper
caste female comic which has occupied space in a dude bro scene without mocking her maid or
Mayawati. When Ashish shakya’s defining his profession as, “making money out of mayawati’s
facial hair” was pointed out. The unending empathy of woman who made “ I have a vagina
sketch” for AIB came to his defense that he may have changed, the men mostly block or don’t
respond. Or wait for a #metoo movement because a considerable demographic of such content is
often a cis savarna feminist (“I have a vagina re”, TERF tendencies to reduce womanhood to
genitals) who will happily trade liberation for all women for a seat on the dude bro table. Even if
that table breeds misogyny. Performative wokeness where ex-employees of AIB tell them their
feminism is flawed and they get appreciation for fine tuning their woke brand in proportion to
the consumers. This is incredible little trick how upper caste power structures control narratives
of Indian feminism where much of it looks like liberation and agency but actually isn’t. the
tendency to create orchestrated spectacles in tuned with (cis upper caste) feminist “outrage”.
This move post #metoo self-corrective stand demanding emotional labour of women to teach
them and responding selectively to a very cis savarna bourgeois centric feminist critiques in fear
of not losing the woke market demographic. AIB comics has capitalized on the nirbhaya
movement, by made a marital rape sketch while continuing to use rape as metaphor and
cacophonies of upper caste patriarchal projections at Mayawati. Tanmay bhat’s joke on urban
traffic woes: “Noida is the dalit cousin of delhi” insidiously furthering historical oppression of
his forefathers by capitalizing ‘dalit’ as punchline for laughs. He has relied on transphobic slurs
as “aye gay aye gaandu aye chakke” as punchlines. How AIB uses feminism? video missed
these points. A flaw of cis upper caste feminist flaw of centering oneself and careerist
compulsions in comedy landscape.

Anurag Verma, a social media editor. He has worked with Huffington post as social media trends
editor and currently with CNN IBN. He has mocked competency of quota employees, vinod
kambli’s skin tone and use of word dalit in coverage of rohith vemula’s death on his twitter and
makes maid jokes on vines and instagram.

kunal kamra who interviewed JNU’s umar khalid and kahnayia kumar asked why reservation is
not on economic basis. Upper caste millennial living in a post-caste La La Land which never
curtails his opportunities. He recently replied to a tweet saying every opinion has a journey and
replied back he is making a set on caste problem oblivious to the irony of a savarna comic joking
on caste issues for an all savarna audience. The last thing that dalit bahujans need is another
mic-stealing self-centring saviour dumping his newly found anti-casteness and capitalizing the
hypervisibility of dalit bahujan resistance post Vemula.

His caste privilege buys him amples time and chances to learn and get away with plenty of
callous stuff he says eg: “Dr. ambedkar wanted reservation for 15 years” in a chat show with
jignesh mewani and shehla Rashid. It was aired on the WIRE. The weight of savarna gaze on
Jignesh where he repeats himself again : dalits also have brahmanism among them but he doesn’t
holds anything against ones born as Brahmins and kamra’s use of brahmanical hack of reductive
bad-faith requests for evidence, or repeated questions, the purpose of which is not clarification or
elucidation, but rather an attempt to derail a discussion from caste system to reservation and
education system and shehla rashid critiques merit as colonial hangover not Brahmanism.

Kunal karma’s severe lack of self reflexivity has never allowed him to see caste power plays in
his own profession. Conveniently unseeing the role brahmanism guards an upper caste person
blatantly violating SC ST atrocities act multiple times and facing no legal consequences.
Brahmanism in self-depreciating baniya jokes on baniya “frugality”, narcissistic affirming it as
business acumen. Merit is caste stigmatizing affirmative action . Brahmanism as absence of dalit
bahujan voices from comedy clubs. Brahmanism in cracking unending jokes on Mayawati and
face no FIR or media outrage than what a meme on sachin or modi could get you into.
Brahmanism in graded or no solidarity from free speech warriors to srilamanthula
Chandramohan or sumeet samos student of JNU . Brahmanism of unseeing how merit is nothing
but your caste, class, gender, race, sexuality playing in your favor.

Their claims to castelessness , caste blind naivety and presence of caste supremacy in heart of
their humour. Caste as currency of jokes. The unending empathy for their protected ignorance
that they are woke enough to be panelists on social change but joke about social injustices. The
infallibility of upper caste, patriarchal, transphobic humor reflected in responses like “grow a
funny bone” , “get a sense of humour”. If you are finding something wrong with it, there is
something wrong with you. One needs to deny their own truth & lived reality to acquire some
merit to catch the frequency of their comic genius.

Brahmanism is passing out from elite institutions IIT IIM TISS to become political comics with
mis-informed views is not a waste of college seat unlike the SC ST OBCs “squatting” them.
Brahmanism is privileging cis upper caste folks leaving no chance to weaponize their
pop-cultural capital at their disposal against marginalized and sexual minorities facing immense
hostility in a heteronormative, caste stratified society. The absence of dalit bahujan voices from
such spaces and caste as currency in unequal power relations where plenty of savarnas can
violate SC ST OBC ACT AND CALL IT A joke and dalit child posting jai bhim gets thrashed
by upper caste goons. The cruelest joke ever cracked was by Manu. And, upper castes are still
chuckling over it.