Santa, yeh joke nahin Banta

I had a name in school — Sardar. Nothing wrong, nothing right too. It was as if my name was of little or no significance. I was just Sardar. Boys would be boys, I guess, and so scornful humour was taken in stride, but at some level of my being, it hurt. In senior school, the bus ride home would see a liberal splatter of jokes — unintelligent, dim-witted, crude jokes. Invariably, Sardar jokes. 

As a child, you don’t pick friends based on communities. Friendships come without pre-requisites. As teenage sets in, you become more conscious of who you are as an individual. But, I found no humour in the daily reminder of the unsophisticated “baran baj gaye” jokes, only rebuke. 

I was a national-level debater and public speaker in a Chandigarh school, but my appearance on the dais would often be greeted with derisive laughter. As soon as I would begin speaking, there would be silence, followed by an all-too embarrassment-filled applause.

As I stepped into the university, I gave in to the “Santa-Banta” jokes, at times forcing laughter so as not to antagonise the friends’ group. Every now and then, a friend would remark: “I hope you don’t mind. Nothing personal.” I do mind. 

I am all for free speech, all for having a laugh once in a while at each other’s expense, all for seeing the humour in a joke and taking some things lightly, but people, I do get hurt. The characterisation does hurt my sensibilities.

I have no reason to disagree with Taslima Nasreen when she says, “I believe in absolute freedom of expression. Everyone has a right to offend and be offended.” But it all sounds good on paper, till you get to hear something offensive which actually seems amusing to others. 

 There is another characterisation of Sikhs as a community that does not shy away from taking a dig at itself. I am part of that proud community, but again, I do get hurt by Santa-Banta jokes. I feel targeted, even though I realise the joke is not targeted at me. I back Harvinder Choudhary’s PIL seeking a ban on jokes centred around the Sikh community. 

The writer is a Chandigarh-based contributor