Comedians have said that the government is afraid of satire on politics. Participants in the fourth session of the first day of the 'Kantipur Conclave-2026', which began on Monday, 'Nepali Politics by Satirizing Yourself', said that politics would be autocratic and unaccountable without humor. The speakers concluded that comedy plays an important role in democracy and freedom of expression.

The speaker of the session, comedian Parbat Lama, said that comedy and politics are interconnected. ‘When comedians do not provide critical awareness, then the people start to fear the government. Comedy removes the fear of the government from the minds of the people,’ he said. Therefore, he said that if comedy is stopped, the voice of political thought and criticism will also be stopped. Lama said that since comedy shows all aspects of society, it is a means of raising social awareness. 

Another speaker, comedian Adarsh ​​Mishra, said that one should not think while doing political satire. He was of the opinion that if leaders do not speak thoughtfully, comedians should not speak too much. He said, ‘I have watched many speeches of leaders, up to 15-20 minutes. The most laughable thing is when the leader speaks.’ 

He said that the nature of comedy is changing. Mishra said that people are not in leisure these days and that they do not have time to watch even 15-second reels. He said, ‘There is no time to watch 15-second reels, who listens to one and a half minutes? People have no time at all.’

Mishra also commented that Nepal’s daily news is like a punchline for satire. He said that he reads the news every day and finds the headline of every news to be a punchline for satire. Giving an example, he said, ‘The other day I was reading – the country has gone into a trade deficit of 73.6 billion, this is a good joke, nothing needs to be added to it.’

Mishra also raised the issue of pressure on the freedom of comedy. He gave the example of a comedian in India who had to go to jail for making jokes, and reminded that some artists had legal challenges in Nepal too. He said, ‘In Nepal too, first Pranish went to jail, then Apoorva went. They would have taken me too. I had to go to Bihar to get an arrest warrant issued for me, because I do not have citizenship.’

Another speaker, comedian Sundar Khanal, shared his views on the threats and pressure he faces while doing comedy. Stating that they are being complained about for speaking in favor or against someone, and sometimes threatened with beating, he said that comedians should be prepared for comedy. Khanal said that comedy is not just entertainment but a creation and that it is not easy to make the audience laugh.

‘Tears come unintentionally, but people want laughter. It is difficult to make people laugh. It requires a lot of effort,’ he said. He mentioned that the role of artists, audiences and society is important in the future of the comedy sector and its survival. He said that if comedians go in the wrong direction, caution and criticism are necessary for improvement.  Comedian Manoj Gajurel, who facilitated the

session, also emphasized the social role of comedy. He said that the current young generation prefers short performances over long comedies. Stating that the interests and psychology of the audience have changed over time, Gajurel said that the attention span is decreasing due to technology, social media and digital platforms. ‘Today’s young generation likes short content. If it is too long, it will get boring in the middle,' he said.