Sardarji jokes
Encyclopedia
Sardarji jokes are a class of joke
s based on stereotypes of Sikh
s (referred to as "Sardarjis"). Although jokes about several ethnic stereotype
s are common in India, the Sardarji jokes are one of the most popular and widely circulated ethnic joke
s in India
. Sardarji jokes are generally considered tasteless and inappropriate by members of the Sikh community.
. Many of the Sardarji jokes are variations of other ethnic jokes or stereotype jokes. Some of them also depict Sardarjis as witty. Santa Singh and Banta Singh (Santa-Banta) are two popular names for the stock character
s in the Sardarji jokes. The 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. He also states that "Sikhs are a very prosperous and successful people ....this may have threatened the Hindu ego and created the anxiety which in turn seems to have taken the form of various stereotypes and the resultant joke cycle." 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.
A popular category of Sardarji jokes is the "12 o'clock jokes", which imply that Sikhs are in their senses only at night. Preetinder Singh explains the origin of the "12 o'clock joke" as follows: The real reason for the "12 O'clock Association" with Sikhs comes from Nadir Shah's invasion of India. His troops passed through Punjab after plundering Delhi and killing hundreds of thousands of Hindus and Muslims, and taking hundreds of women as captive. The Sikhs decided to attack Nadir Shah's camp and free the captive women. Being outnumbered by Nadir Shah's huge army, they could not afford to make a frontal attack. Instead, they used to make midnight guerrilla raids on Nadir Shah's camp, free as many captive women as possible, and return them to their homes in order to "restore the diginity of the Hindu community". In jest, the Hindus would say that the Sikhs are in their senses only at night. This later became the trait of a widespread category of derisive jokes. Singh opines: "Hindus started referring to the relatively neutral 12 o'clock, rather than midnight" to avoid annoying the armed Sikhs, and the "final result was the safe, bald statement, 'It is 12 o'clock' shorn of all reference to its very interesting history.....When Hindus crack this joke, they are oblivious to the fact that had the Sikhs not intervened, their womenfolk would have been dishonoured and taken into exile".
Some of the Sardarji jokes, self-deprecatory in nature, were made up by the Sikhs themselves. 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." 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?"
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. 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. The Censor Board issued directions to delete the objectionable scenes in the film.
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. 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 and that "All truth has the power to offend. Take away the offence and you end up suppressing the truth". Research has indicated however that suggesting truth in such stereotypes in ethnic jokes is not supported by facts which are contrary to this suggestion.). 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." 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.
-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." 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. 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. Khushwant Singh, a Sikh author who has included several Sardarji jokes in his joke books, received a notice from the secretary of SGPC
in 2004, asking him to desist from hurting the sentiments of the community. Singh also received similar notices from some Marwari organizations, the Shiv Sena
and the RSS
. However, he continued to include Sardarji jokes in his subsequent joke books. In the preface to his 7th joke book, he claimed that most of his Sardarji jokes were "pro-Sardarji".
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". Many Sikhs in Meerut staged violent protests. 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.
Joke
A joke is a phrase or a paragraph with a humorous twist. It can be in many different forms, such as a question or short story. To achieve this end, jokes may employ irony, sarcasm, word play and other devices...
s based on stereotypes of Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
s (referred to as "Sardarjis"). Although jokes about several ethnic stereotype
Ethnic stereotype
An ethnic stereotype is a generalized representation of an ethnic group, composed of what are thought to be typical characteristics of members of the group.Ethnic stereotypes are commonly portrayed in ethnic jokes.-Ethnic stereotypes:*African Americans...
s are common in India, the Sardarji jokes are one of the most popular and widely circulated ethnic joke
Ethnic joke
An ethnic joke is a humorous remark relating to an ethnic, racial or cultural group, often referring to a stereotype of the group in question for its punchline....
s in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Sardarji jokes are generally considered tasteless and inappropriate by members of the Sikh community.
Origin
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 languageEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. Many of the Sardarji jokes are variations of other ethnic jokes or stereotype jokes. Some of them also depict Sardarjis as witty. Santa Singh and Banta Singh (Santa-Banta) are two popular names for the stock character
Stock character
A Stock character is a fictional character based on a common literary or social stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes,...
s in the Sardarji jokes. The researcher Jawaharlal Handoo associates some traits of the Sardarji jokes with the stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
of Sikhs being associated with jobs where physical fitness is more important than knowledge of the English language or intellect. He also states that "Sikhs are a very prosperous and successful people ....this may have threatened the Hindu ego and created the anxiety which in turn seems to have taken the form of various stereotypes and the resultant joke cycle." 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.
A popular category of Sardarji jokes is the "12 o'clock jokes", which imply that Sikhs are in their senses only at night. Preetinder Singh explains the origin of the "12 o'clock joke" as follows: The real reason for the "12 O'clock Association" with Sikhs comes from Nadir Shah's invasion of India. His troops passed through Punjab after plundering Delhi and killing hundreds of thousands of Hindus and Muslims, and taking hundreds of women as captive. The Sikhs decided to attack Nadir Shah's camp and free the captive women. Being outnumbered by Nadir Shah's huge army, they could not afford to make a frontal attack. Instead, they used to make midnight guerrilla raids on Nadir Shah's camp, free as many captive women as possible, and return them to their homes in order to "restore the diginity of the Hindu community". In jest, the Hindus would say that the Sikhs are in their senses only at night. This later became the trait of a widespread category of derisive jokes. Singh opines: "Hindus started referring to the relatively neutral 12 o'clock, rather than midnight" to avoid annoying the armed Sikhs, and the "final result was the safe, bald statement, 'It is 12 o'clock' shorn of all reference to its very interesting history.....When Hindus crack this joke, they are oblivious to the fact that had the Sikhs not intervened, their womenfolk would have been dishonoured and taken into exile".
Some of the Sardarji jokes, self-deprecatory in nature, were made up by the Sikhs themselves. In The Other Face of India, M. V. Kamath
M. V. Kamath
'Madhav Vittal Kamath' is an Indian journalist. He was the former chairman of Prasar Bharati. He worked as the editor of 'The Sunday Times ' for two years during 1967-69 and as the its Washington Correspondent of 'Times of India' during 1969-78. He has also served as editor of 'The Illustrated...
wrote about "the Punjabi
Punjabi people
The Punjabi people , ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ), also Panjabi people, are an Indo-Aryan group from South Asia. They are the second largest of the many ethnic groups in South Asia. They originate in the Punjab region, which has been been the location of some of the oldest civilizations in the world including, the...
's enormous capacity to poke fun at himself, a trait that seems peculiar to the Punjabi, especially the Sikh." In his book President Giani Zail Singh, the Sikh author Joginder Singh
Joginder Singh
Joginder Singh is the name of:* Joginder Singh , Subedar in the Indian Army* Joginder Singh , Kenyan former rally driver* Joginder Singh , Indian hockey player...
states "...who can enjoy a good joke against himself or against his tribe except a Punjabi and more particularly, a Sikh?"
Protests by Sikh groups
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. 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
Pritish Nandy Communications
Pritish Nandy Communications, often abbreviated to PNC, is an entertainment, news and media content corporation, and a maker of Indian movies, based in Mumbai, India. It was one of the first Indian media and entertainment companies to be publicly listed on a stock exchange. The company went public...
(PNC) film Shabd
Shabd (film)
Shabd is a 2005 Bollywood movie produced by Pritish Nandy Communications, and directed by Leena Yadav. It stars Sanjay Dutt, Aishwarya Rai and Zayed Khan. The film got good reviews but failed at the Box Office...
. In the scene, Zayed Khan
Zayed Khan
-Early life:Khan's parents are former Bollywood actor Sanjay Khan and interior designer Zarine Khan. Khan is the youngest of four children. His older sisters are Simone Khan , Sussanne Roshan , and Farah Khan Ali...
tries to cheer Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is an Indian film actress. She worked as a model before starting her acting career, and ultimately won the Miss World pageant in 1994...
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. An organization called The Sikh Brotherhood International wrote letters to the PNC, the Central Board of Film Certification
Central Board of Film Certification
The Central Board of Film Certification is a Government of India regulatory body and censorship board of India controlled by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It reviews, rates and censors motion pictures, television shows, television ads, and promotional material...
, and the National Commission for Minorities
National Commission for Minorities
The National Commission for Minorities is a body constituted by the Government of India to monitor and evaluate the progress of people classified as minorities by the Indian government. Essentially the minorities in India consist of followers of all religions other than Hinduism and weaker...
(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. The Censor Board issued directions to delete the objectionable scenes in the film.
Complaint by National Commission for Minorities
On February 25, 2005, journalist Vir SanghviVir Sanghvi
Vir Sanghvi is an Indian print and television journalist, columnist, and talk show host. Currently, he is an Advisor, at HT Media....
wrote a column in Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded in 1924 with roots in the Indian independence movement of the period ....
, 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. He pointed out that the best Sardarji jokes are told by the Sikhs themselves, presenting Khushwant Singh
Khushwant Singh
Khushwant Singh is a prominent Indian novelist and journalist. Singh's weekly column, "With Malice towards One and All", carried by several Indian newspapers, is among the most widely-read columns in the country....
as an example. He further went on to say that the protestors should develop a sense of humor and that "All truth has the power to offend. Take away the offence and you end up suppressing the truth". Research has indicated however that suggesting truth in such stereotypes in ethnic jokes is not supported by facts which are contrary to this suggestion.). On March 2, 2005, The NCM filed a complaint against the Hindustan Times with the Press Council of India
Press Council of India
The Press Council Of India is a statutory body in India that governs the conduct of the print media. It is one of the most important bodies that sustain democracy, as it has supreme power in regards to the media to ensure that freedom of speech is maintained. However, it is also empowered to hold...
, stating that "the tone, tenor and the content of the article in question has a tendency to hurt the sentiments of Sikh community." 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
Constitution of India
The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions, and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens...
. The NCM decided not to proceed with the matter, and the case was closed as withdrawn.
Complaints to police and court cases
In March 2007, around 25 Sikh youths from Sikh Media and Culture Watch (SMCW) demanded arrest of Ranjit Parande, a MatungaMatunga
Matunga is a district located in the central part of Mumbai. It is a railway station on the Mumbai Suburban Railway network. This station is called Matunga on the Central railway line, Matunga Road on the Western line and King's Circle, on the Harbour Line...
-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
Mumbai Police
The Mumbai Police is the police force of the city of Mumbai, India. It has the primary responsibilities of law enforcement and investigation within the limits of Mumbai. The department's motto is ""...
arrested Parande under section 295 of the Indian Penal Code
Indian Penal Code
Indian Penal Code is the main criminal code of India. It is a comprehensive code, intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law. It was drafted in 1860 and came into force in colonial India during the British Raj in 1862...
, for "hurting religious sentiments." 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. They later requested the cyber cell department of the Mumbai police
Mumbai Police
The Mumbai Police is the police force of the city of Mumbai, India. It has the primary responsibilities of law enforcement and investigation within the limits of Mumbai. The department's motto is ""...
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
Navjot Singh Sidhu
Navjot Singh Sidhu is former Indian cricket star . After retirement from cricket Navjot Singh Sidhu took up television commentary, and politics. He was later forced to resign from his political position because he was convicted of homicide.-Biography:...
and Khushwant Singh
Khushwant Singh
Khushwant Singh is a prominent Indian novelist and journalist. Singh's weekly column, "With Malice towards One and All", carried by several Indian newspapers, is among the most widely-read columns in the country....
for perpetuating the stereotypical image of Sikhs. Khushwant Singh, a Sikh author who has included several Sardarji jokes in his joke books, received a notice from the secretary of SGPC
Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee is an organization in India responsible for the upkeep of gurdwaras, Sikh places of worship in three states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. SGPC also administers Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar. Gurdwaras in Delhi are the administered by Delhi Sikh...
in 2004, asking him to desist from hurting the sentiments of the community. Singh also received similar notices from some Marwari organizations, the Shiv Sena
Shiv Sena
Shiv Sena , is a political party in India founded on 19 June 1966 by Balasaheb Thackeray. It is currently headed by Thackeray's son, Uddhav Thackeray...
and the RSS
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or National Patriotic Organization), also known the Sangh, is a right-wing Hindu nationalist, paramilitary, volunteer, and allegedly militant organization for Hindu males in India...
. However, he continued to include Sardarji jokes in his subsequent joke books. In the preface to his 7th joke book, he claimed that most of his Sardarji jokes were "pro-Sardarji".
In December 2007, India's second biggest mobile operator Reliance Communications
Reliance Communications
Reliance Communications Ltd. is an Indian broadband and telecommunications company headquartered in Navi Mumbai, India. RCOM is the world's 16th largest mobile phone operator with over 144 million subscribers. Established on 2004, a subsidiary of the Reliance Group...
and its head Anil Ambani
Anil Ambani
Anil Dhirubhai Ambani is an Indian-Gujarati business baron and chairman of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, one of the largest private conglomerates. Anil's elder brother, Mukesh Ambani, is worth more than 29 billion dollars, and owns another company called Reliance Industries...
were charged by Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
police with "insulting a religion or faith", after Reliance sent a Sardarji joke as its "joke of the day". Many Sikhs in Meerut staged violent protests. 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.