Adieu, Santa and Banta

Santa and Banta are in trouble. They’re facing a sentence of cyber obsoletion pending the Supreme Court’s examination of a PIL that seeks a ban on all Sikh and Sardar jokes online. Filed by Sikh lawyer Harvinder Chowdhury, it claims that such jokes are a violation of the community’s dignity and right to equality with fellow citizens. Are we really standing on the brink of a Sardar-less Internet joke archive Stand-up comedians react. Stand-up comic Neeti Palta exclaims, “Arrey but people who crack Santa Banta jokes the most are Sardars themselves! If we’re going to lose our sense of humour and become so politically correct, this Diwali I’ll be saying ‘Ye meri das ki visually impaired chaal’ . Honestly, I think we are increasingly becoming politically correct in our lives and more importantly, I think, we all becoming too serious, man. And if we talk only about this case in particular, I don’t anyone who can take a joke well than a Sardar himself! I spoke to several of my Sikh friends thinking maybe we are having a ball at their cost, but to be honest, they don’t object. To quote them exactly — Yeh kya sayapa chaya hua hai, what is this nonsense, what happened to our ability to laugh at ourselves I think we are in a mode where ‘Oh ji hum kissi bhi baat peh offense ho jayege” and after this who knows all the Malayalis, Jats, Gujjus, Biharis, Madrasis might also say that remove jokes about us, too.”

She goes on, “Personally, I don’t think any region or religion is so weak that it can’t take jokes on itself.”

Noted stand-up comic Maheep Singh, a proud Sardar himself, says, “I understand that the petition by Ms. Chowdhury states that she is against all the jokes cracked on Sardars. Whereas, my point is you cannot treat all jokes equally. I myself crack so many Sardar jokes and there is a difference between making someone the butt of jokes and making jokes about somebody. There are stereotypes surrounding people, groups, regions, etc. and they are there for a reason, and we comedians have to make fun of them, I mean, why not Also, if you can’t laugh at yourself then you can’t laugh at others, too. This is my belief.” He adds, “When I was six-seven years old, life got hard with all the jokes made around me. I have been through that phase and I understand it completely. There are bad jokes and they should be banned irrespective of region or religion. But then you should clearly demarcate good from the bad. Also we live in a democracy and banning stuff doesn’t reflect well about society its social structure. If you can’t take a joke or lack a sense of humour, then no one can help you but yourself.”

On the other hand, Sorabh Pant of East India Comedy affirms that such PILs are a waste of judicial time. He affirms, “Sardars are the most gregarious and sporting community in India, probably with the Gujjus. I know Sardars who would themselves laugh at this PIL! Personally, I find this kind of stuff a waste of judicial time. Anyway, it’s 2015 — who is even still making Santa-Banta jokes Even a website dedicated to these jokes is now a Bollywood website. That’s how much these jokes matter now. Also, we should celebrate our differences, it’s the essence of India. I do jokes on all communities. The only people who are offended are the ones who say after a show, ‘you made fun of every community but not mine. That’s not fair!’ So, relax, laugh and stop taking yourself so seriously.”

Stand-up comedian Rajneesh Kapoor also takes a slightly serious look at the matter and shares, “Negative stereotyping is a problem and ‘jokes’ do sometimes perpetuate stereotypes but I don’t think anyone who has ever dealt with a Sikh actually believes that Sikhs are in anyway less smart than anyone else. On the contrary, Sikhs are seen as a community that is superior in their values, work ethics, success and many other things. Like insecure men make jokes about women bosses or drivers, similarly humour can at times be a means for people to get over their own sense of inferiority. Also the PIL is asking just for an Internet ban on Sikh jokes. So, this doesn’t actually have an effect on the jokes circulating in real life. Keep in mind that Sikh jokes were popular way before the Internet was even invented! I think that the court will surely move on and the jokes will keep circulating online since the Internet is extremely hard to regulate. Besides, Sikhs are awesome anyway. The petition also says offenders should be told to deposit a compensation in the National Legal And if Sardar jokes should be banned online Fund. It adds that the Ministries of Telecom and Information and Broadcasting should either ban the websites or direct them to remove such jokes since ‘they tend to portray the Sardar community as people of low intellect’.”