Indian comedians apologise for jokes claimed to be offensive

Indian comedians are being targeted for old videos and posts featuring jokes which have hurt cultural and historical sentiments. The trend began after a joke about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj by Agrima Joshua went viral online.

Joshua posted an apology on Twitter, “I am sorry for having hurt the sentiments of the many followers of the great leader Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. My heartfelt apologies to followers of the great leader, who I sincerely respect. The video has already been taken down. Please amplify.”, as well as a video apologizing to CM of Maharashtra, HM Aaditya Thackeray, Raj Thackeray and Nitin Raut. Aadar Malik and Sahil Shah also posted similar apology videos.

Some targeted comedians have made their accounts private or deleted them altogether, including Sanjay Rajoura, Neeti Palta, Rohan Joshi and others.