20 May 2026
Controversial Indian Muslim comedian – Munawar Faruqui’s ‘Dhandho” tour of Australia and New Zealand scheduled for May-June 2026 has been called off.
Faruqui rose to fame following his derisive jokes about the Hindu deities – Ram and Sita; and his mocking of the deaths of Hindu pilgrims in a burning train in Godhra.
The tour collapsed in the face of fierce opposition by Australian Hindus, Hindu organisations and Indian-origin community groups, who called for Faruqui’s Australian visa to be cancelled.
One by one Faruqui’s sponsors, venues and promoters deserted him.
While there has been no official announcement by Faruqui, on 20 May 2026 the University of New South Wales – the last remaining venue open for the tour told the Australian Hindu Association:

Tour draws ire of Australian Hindu groups

26 Hindu and Indian community organisations and temples, including AHA and HCA, had called on Immigration Minister Tony Burke (pictured) to cancel Faruqui’s visa.

In a letter to the Minster dated 24 April 2025, the groups submitted that Faruqui “does not pass” the character test under section 501 of the Migration Act.

They asserted that:
• There is a risk that Faruqui’s entry into Australia will incite discord between Australian Hindus and Muslims, particularly those from the South Asian community.
• There is a risk that Faruqui will vilify the Hindu community in Australia if permitted to perform here.
• There is a risk – given Faruqui’s history – that his performances will contravene Australia’s religious vilification laws. ‘It is our view that Mr Faruqui’s targeted content on Hindus is neither reasonable nor in good faith.’

In response to questions from Australian Hindu Media as to whether Faruqui’s visa had been cancelled, the Minister’s his spokesperson responded, “For privacy reasons, the Department cannot comment on individual cases.”

How support for Faruqui collapsed

• On 16 April 2026, the organiser of Faruqui’s Adelaide show – Maulin Patel of Mitram Events wrote to AHA President Amendra Singh advising that it has made a decision to cancel the event “…as we do not wish to hurt the sentiments of any individual or community.”
• On 17 April 2026, Deepak Sharma – President of the Indian Society of Western Australia which operates the Indian Community Centre, Perth (“ICC”) advised AHA that Faruqui’s event scheduled for Perth on 29 May 2026 had been booked with ICC “without disclosing its true nature (and) has been cancelled…”.
• On 27 April 2026, Mansi Patel – the advertised “EmCee & Host” for the scheduled Sydney Faruqui event advised Amendra Singh that she had withdrawn from the event.

• On 30 April 2026, the Vice Chancellor of Deakin University advised Amendra Singh that the university would no longer be making its Deakin Theatre available to Faruqui.
• On 8 May 2026, sponsor Sana Zia – the Pakistani Muslim-origin owner of A1 TV Entertainment informed AHA that they were no longer supporting the event, stating: “For us all religions are respectful and we respect all cultures and religions so that’s why our company stepped back from Melbourne show.”
• On 13 May 2026, promoter Imran Ali Lakhani the Pakistani Muslim origin owner of Vision Consultants emailed Amendra Singh stating, “… After careful consideration, we have decided to withdraw our involvement and support from the event. Our intention has never been to offend or disrespect any religion, faith, or cultural values…”

The curious case of Rohit Tridevi

A scheduled tour by Faruqui in 2025 had also been cancelled. At the time its organiser – Rohit Trivedi (pictured) of Sahyog Entertainment had publicly apologised on social media for supporting the event:

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BTiUB6EcD/

Remarkably, when the 2026 tour was announced, Trivedi brazenly promoted it on his Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/rohit_8055?igsh=bDBoc3NlMnY3czIx

When asked by Amendra Singh to explain the inconsistency between his 2025 and 2026 positions, Trivedi responded:

What Faruqui said about Hindus

In one video clip circulating on the internet, Faruqui says:
“Mera piya (my lover) ghar aaya (came home) oh Ram Ji… Ram Ji don’t give a fuck about your piya (lover) …I myself (Ram) have not gone home for 14 years. If Sita (Ram’s wife) hears this, she will doubt it…he’s your husband why are you updating (having intimate relations with) my husband bitch…
“Sita had suspicions about Madhuri (an actress) from before…She stopped counting at 14 (laughs)”
Shree Ram is a pre-eminent deity revered by Hindus throughout the world. His wife – Maa (Mother) Sita is equally venerated. The story of Shree Ram’s 14-year self-imposed exile forms a large part of one of the most foremost of Hindu texts – the Ram Charitra Manas (commonly known as the Ramayan).
In another clip, Faruqui says:

“…This is the video of Godhra kand (story)…I thought a movie was running directed by Amit Shah (Home Minister of India) or something, produced by RSS (the Hindu cultural organisation – Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh).”
Godhra kand is a reference to the burning of a train in Godhra, India carrying Hindu pilgrims returning from a holy visit to Ayodhya by a mob of some 2,000 Islamic extremists on the morning of 27 February 2002 (https://cjp.org.in/revisiting-godhra-voices-of-survivors/).
After some stone-pelting, four train coaches were set on fire, trapping many people inside. Fifty-nine people, including 27 women and 10 children, were burned to death, while 48 were injured.
The attack triggered one of the worst Hindu-Muslim riots in India’s history and is an ongoing trigger for animosity between Hindus and Muslims of Indian origin.
In stark contrast, Faruqui makes no jokes about religious figures of his own Islamic faith.

Indian criminal charges

Faruqui is facing multiple criminal charges in India including:
a) Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs – section 295A of the Indian Penal Code (“IPC”).
b) Uttering words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings – s 298 IPC.
c) Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life – s 269 IPC.
d) Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant – s188 IPC.

After spending 37 days in custody, Mr Faruqui was granted bail by the Indian Supreme Court on strict conditions.
It is not known whether Faruqui disclosed his Indian charges in his Australian visa application.

Over 200 Hindus voiced their opposition

AHM is aware that at least 200 Australian Hindus individually wrote to Minister Burke and to their federal MPs voicing their concerns about Faruqui’s proposed visit.

A petition by ‘Hindus United’ also garnered over 100 signatures: https://hindusunited.org/letter-to-the-minister-for-immigration-australia/

At least eight federal MPs conveyed representations by their constituents opposing Faruqui’s visit to Minister Burke.

They included:

From approval of visa to ‘closing’ of bookings

By April 2026, promoters of the tour were advertising that Faruqui had been granted an Australian visa:

The tour continued to take bookings up to mid-May 2026.

Suddenly, around 19 May 2026 the bookings were marked as “Ticketing Closed”: