Sardarji jokes
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Sardarji jokes are a class of jokes based on stereotypes of Sikhs (referred to as "Sardarji"s). Although jokes on several ethnic stereotypes are common in India, the Sardarji jokes are one of the most popular and widely circulated ethnic jokes in India.1 In the recent years, the jokes on the stereotypes of Biharis have become more common than the Sardarji jokes.2

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Traits

Some of the dominant traits of the Sardarji jokes include the Sardarji being shown as naïve, inept, unintelligent, unclean, or not well-versed with the English language.13 For example, here is a joke adapted from The Unofficial Joke Book of Mind Blowing SMS (ISBN 8184191901), compiled by a Sikh author:4

A Sardarji is travelling for the first time in a plane, headed for Bombay. While the plane is landing, he starts shouting "Bombay, Bombay!".

The air hostess says, "Be silent".

Sardaji says, "OK", and starts shouting "ombay, ombay".

Many of the Sardarji jokes are variations of other ethnic jokes or stereotype jokes. Some of them also depict Sardarjis as witty.5

Santa Singh and Banta Singh (Santa-Banta) are two popular names for the stock characters in the Sardarji jokes.6

Researcher Jawaharlal Handoo associates some traits of the Sardarji jokes with the stereotype of Sikhs being associated with jobs where physical fitness is more important than knowledge of the English language or intellect. Another trait of the Sardarji jokes is the Sardarjis being unclean or lousy; this stereotype is probably a result of the long hair, beards and headgear of the Sikhs.1 Soumen Sen states that these jokes perhaps reflect the anxiety of the non-Sikh Indian elite, who may have suffered from a sense of insecurity due to the growing competition from the enterprising Sikhs.7

Reaction from Sikh community

The Sardarji joke, like all ethnic humour, is part of a good-natured Indian tradition and hardly an example of any kind of anti-minority feeling.
— Vir Sanghvi8

Many of the Sardarji jokes, self-deprecatory in nature, were made up by the easy-going Sikhs themselves.91011121314 In The Other Face of India, M. V. Kamath wrote about "the Punjabi's enormous capacity to poke fun at himself, a trait that seems peculiar to the Punjabi, especially the Sikh."15 In his book President Giani Zail Singh, the Sikh author Joginder Singh states "...who can enjoy a good joke against himself or against his tribe except a Punjabi and more particularly, a Sikh?"16 Several joke books containing Sardarji jokes have been compiled by Sikh authors themselves.17

However, in recent years, there have been several cases of Sikh groups protesting against the Sardarji jokes. In Folk Narrative and Ethnic Identity: The 'Sardarji' Joke Cycle, Jawaharlal Handoo notes that the Sikh members in a group generally do not seem to enjoy a Sardarji joke, although they may pretend to enjoy the humor of the joke by smiling or joining the group laughter.1 He also states that upon hearing a Sardarji joke, the Sikh member of the group may fire a "counter-joke" about a non-Sikh ethnic group, such as the Baniyas.

In 2005, some Sikhs protested against a scene in the Pritish Nandy Communications (PNC) film Shabd. In the scene, Zayed Khan tries to cheer Aishwarya Rai by telling a Sardarji joke. As he begins the joke with the words "There was a Sardarji", Aishwarya starts giggling. A group of angry Sikhs stormed the PNC office, and demanded that the scene be deleted from the film.8 An organization called The Sikh Brotherhood International wrote letters to the PNC, the Central Board of Film Certification, and the National Commission for Minorities (NCM), saying that the film had hurt the sentiments of the Sikh community. The Pritish Nandy Communications Limited tendered a written apology, stating that they respect the Sikh community and hold it in high esteem, and they had no intention of ridiculing anybody.18 The Censor Board issued directions to delete the objectionable scenes in the film.19

On February 25, 2005, journalist Vir Sanghvi wrote a column in Hindustan Times, saying that the NCM was curbing free speech on behalf of the "forces of intolerance", while claiming to fight for minority rights. He wrote that the Sardarji joke is part of the "good-natured Indian tradition", and not an example of anti-minority feeling.8 He pointed out that the best Sardarji jokes are told by the Sikhs themselves, presenting Khushwant Singh as an example. He further went on to say that the protestors should develop a sense of humor. On March 2, 2005, The NCM filed a complaint against the Hindustan Times with the Press Council of India, stating that "the tone, tenor and the content of the article in question has a tendency to hurt the sentiments of Sikh community."20 The Hindustan Times responded by stating that the article was not aimed to ridicule the Sikh community in any manner, and was a criticism of the NCM, justifiable under the right of free speech under the Constitution of India. The NCM decided not to proceed with the matter, and the case was closed as withdrawn.20

Though some jokes were created by the Sikhs themselves, now it has gone out of hand.
— P. S. Pasricha, the second Sikh police commissioner of the Mumbai Police.21

In March 2007, around 25 Sikh youths from Sikh Media and Culture Watch (SMCW) demanded arrest of Ranjit Parande, a Matunga-based book seller, for stocking the Santa and Banta Joke Book, a collection of Sardarji jokes. Based on a complaint filed by a Sikh businessman, the Mumbai Police arrested Parande under section 295 of the Indian Penal Code, for "hurting religious sentiments."21 The SMCW members alleged that several of the Sardarji jokes border on the obscene, and have begun to have a demoralising effect on the Sikh youths.21 They later requested the cyber cell department of the Mumbai police crime branch to "ban jokes on the internet" which portray Sikhs as objects of ridicule. Swaranjit Singh Bajaj, the vice-president of SMCW, blamed the Sikh humorists such as Navjot Singh Sidhu and Khushwant Singh for perpetuating the stereotypical image of Sikhs.21

In December 2007, India's second biggest mobile operator Reliance Communications and its head Anil Ambani were charged by Lucknow police with "insulting a religion or faith", after Reliance sent a Sardarji joke as its "joke of the day".22 The joke was "What is the difference between a Sardar (Sikh) and a donkey? Answer: a tail." Many Sikhs in Meerut staged violent protests.10 The joke originated from the website santabanta.com, and was supplied to Reliance by OnMobile, a third party supplier. Reliance stated that the it was not responsible for content provided by OnMobile, but apologized its subscribers and the Sikh community in Uttar Pradesh. OnMobile also issued a public apology.10

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Handoo, Jawaharlal [1990] (1998). "Folk Narrative and Ethnic Identity: The 'Sardarji' Joke Cycle", Storytelling in Contemporary Societies. Tübingen: Gunther Narr, 155-161. ISBN 978-3823344759. OCLC 23274712. 
  2. ^ Musings of a Bihari. Mayank Rasu. The Hindu. Sunday, Aug 26, 2007. “Biharis” have now usurped the place of “Sardarjis” as a favourite butt of jokes.
  3. ^ Singh, Khushwant (1974). Khushwant Singh's view of India: [lectures on India's people, religions, history & contemporary affairs]. Bombay: IBH Pub. Co., 88. OCLC 2296948. 
  4. ^ Saluja, Kuldeep (2004). The Unofficial Joke Book of Mind Blowing SMS. Diamond Pocket Books/Fusion Books, 38. ISBN 8184191901. 
  5. ^ (2004) The Unofficial Joke Book of Mind Blowing SMS. Diamond Pocket Books/Fusion Books, 159-160. ISBN 818918265X. 
  6. ^ Singh, Khushwant; Rahul Singh (1978). Around the world with Khushwant Singh. New Delhi: Orient Paperbacks, 86. OCLC 7671455. 
  7. ^ Sen, Soumen (2004). Khasi-Jaintia Folklore ; Context, Discourse, and History. Chennai: National Folklore Support Centre, 11. ISBN 8190148133. OCLC 56096400. 
  8. ^ a b c Vir Sanghvi (February 27, 2005). "Free Speech and the Sardarji Joke", Hindustan Times. Retrieved on 29 October 2007. 
  9. ^ Fishlock, Trevor (1983). Gandhi's Children. New York: Universe Books, 72. ISBN 978-0876634363. OCLC 9555744. 
  10. ^ a b c "Sikhs fail to see funny side of phone jokes". The Times (December 4, 2007). Retrieved on 2008-01-14. (archived)
  11. ^ Joshi, Manoj (1997). Passport India: Your Pocket Guide to Indian Business, Customs & Etiquette, Passport to the World. San Rafael, California: World Trade Press, 77. ISBN 978-1885073235. OCLC 35223049. 
  12. ^ Bageshree S. (July 05, 2004). "Those ABSURD jokes", Metro Plus, The Hindu. Retrieved on 29 October 2007. 
  13. ^ K P S Gill. "VI. Looking For A New Star". Punjab: The Knights of Falsehood. South Asia Terrorism Portal. Retrieved on 2007-10-29.
  14. ^ Mācave, Prabhākara (1979). Literary Studies and Sketches. Calcutta: United Writers, 144. OCLC 5776368. 
  15. ^ Kamath, M. V. (1988). The Other Face of India. Delhi: Konark Publishers, 29. ISBN 978-8122000887. OCLC 20422938. 
  16. ^ Singh, Joginder (1982). President Giani Zail Singh. Chandigarh: Sunder, 37. OCLC 9829681. 
  17. ^ For example, see The Unofficial Joke Book series by Kuldeep Saluja, who writes: "Since I was born in a lovely and fun loving Sikh family full of love and laughter, the Santa Singh and Banta Singh inspired us to create "Billoo Badshah".(Saluja, Kuldeep (2004). The Unofficial Joke Book of Canada. Diamond Pocket Books/Fusion Books, 3-4. ISBN 8128805711. ) Several of the books in the series contain Sardarji jokes and feature Sikhs on the cover page:
    • The Unofficial Joke Book of India (8128805800)
    • The unofficial Joke Book of Smart Couples (8189182471)
    • The Unofficial Joke Book of Canada (8128805711)
    • The Unofficial Joke Book of UK (8128805576)
  18. ^ "Sikhs irked over the use of 'Sardar' in 'Shabd'", The Tribune (February 19, 2005). Retrieved on 29 October 2007. 
  19. ^ "Censor Board snips scenes in Shabd", The Times of India (February 25, 2005). Retrieved on 29 October 2007. 
  20. ^ a b "The National Commission for Minorities vs. The Editor, Hindustan Times (File No. 14/580/04-05-PCI)". Press Council of India (March 2, 2005). Retrieved on 2007-10-29.
  21. ^ a b c d "Sikhs ask cops to ban 'Sardar' jokes on Net", The Times of India, Mumbai (March 27, 2007). Retrieved on 29 October 2007.  (Also see page 2)
  22. ^ "Indian businessman on joke charge", BBC News (December 4, 2007). Retrieved on 14 January 2008. 
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