Adult sikhs have a choice, Children dont have a choice to laugh at sardarji jokes.

My posts dont belittle the right thinking people in India, which form a majority of our great nation; but the purpose of my post is another. To create an empathy amongst the minds of people that dont realise the full impact of their inadvertant actions.

Sikh are by and large well assimilated into the Indian society; infact, I am wrong when I say, assimilated; they ARE an ineliable part of the society itself.

I also agree that adult Sikhs dont take such jokes too seriously and can chose to ignore or to laugh or to pass on the jokes; and it is true that sometimes the jokes are too compelling to let go of. However, that brings me to initial premise.

WHile adults have a choice, Sikh children dont have the choice of ignoring such jokes; and this cycle of jokes make them cry and alienates them from other children. And since the children of today are the cornerstones of the future stones; this issue gains importance.

I request you to go through my earlier posts as well to understand the flow (and repetitions) in my posts,

posted on Thursday, May 12, 2005 1:40 PM

Comments

# re: Adult sikhs have a choice, Children dont have a choice to laugh at sardarji jokes. 8/21/2005 3:16 AM Dev

I am a Hindu. I strongly feel that Sikhs community should not lampooned through Santa Banta and other variants of Sardarji jokes. It is high time we stopped making fun of one community.

# re: Adult sikhs have a choice, Children dont have a choice to laugh at sardarji jokes. 8/17/2005 11:09 AM Govind

Hi friends, 

Let not anyone laugh at our Sikh bretheren. Infact when I am abroad, when I see a Sardar for me, its like seeing India. We guys in south India never had to face torture and pain for centuries, the way Sikhs have - whether it was from the Mughals or British or whoever. Even now they are bordered by Pakistan and god forbid there is any untoward incident, its this state which will bear the brunt the most. So let not these jokes affect you, my Sardar friends - YOU MAKE US PROUD. 

As for the creation of the sardarji jokes themselves - we all have Khushwant Singh to blame. He is the one who has penned most of the Sardarji Joke books. 

Regards,
Govind

# re: Adult sikhs have a choice, Children dont have a choice to laugh at sardarji jokes. 8/17/2005 1:35 AM Kaushik

Well, Indian and Rash, if Nikunj is testing the writer of this blog, why are you indeed getting angry? Don't get angry. Don't prove him right.

# re: Adult sikhs have a choice, Children dont have a choice to laugh at sardarji jokes. 8/17/2005 1:31 AM Kaushik

I believe the sikh jokes originate from the fact that the sikh 'jatts' are quite 'straight thinking' and most of thiese jokes are about the extremes of straight-thinking.
However, the rest of India doesn't know much about the caste-system in Sikhism and Punjab in general and take these as Sikh behaviour. This definitely has a problem when practised on Sikh children.
But isn't taking a joke well a well-admired quality of sikhs (I get Sikh jokes forwarded from my sikh friends)? Why do you want this taken away? Why do you want to become the rest of India which cannot take jokes properly? And well, sikhs make fun of South Indians and Biharis. Should they take it well or should they also react like this?

# re: Adult sikhs have a choice, Children dont have a choice to laugh at sardarji jokes. 5/16/2005 8:47 PM rash

nikunj.. no matter y ur mama wanted herself to be screwed everytime....
she might be the one from family whom we were not able to protect during aurenzeb rule and her family was in habit to sleep with them and thats y u were born(like this)... you ass clown

# re: Adult sikhs have a choice, Children dont have a choice to laugh at sardarji jokes. 5/15/2005 7:50 PM indian

screw your mama nikunj..if even after reading what the others have written, you write this, then you can most gracefully commit suicide rather than wait for other indians, non sikhs mind it, to hack your blistered ass

# re: Adult sikhs have a choice, Children dont have a choice to laugh at sardarji jokes. 5/15/2005 6:51 PM Nikunj

Pata hi chal raha hai.... Sardar ko Kyun Sardar bolte hai.... 

Akele hi blog lagya ja raha hai....... 

Jeo Putter.. Tusi 100% Sardar ho....
Time dekhiyo jara...12 baje kya......
...............
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.KA gussa aa gaya... 12 nahin baje.........
Samjhe beta..... is liye.... Sardar....... Sardar hi rahate hain Kabhi badalte nahin........

# re: Adult sikhs have a choice, Children dont have a choice to laugh at sardarji jokes. 5/15/2005 5:24 PM ratanjit singh

im proud of u kulveer that u have had the thought process to discuss on an issue which every sikh faces , but has not voiced it in such a literate manner.
im my self a sikh and am highly proud of my culture and my fellow men and even their achievements, like fauja singh the 93 yrs old marathon man in uk is the brand ambassador for adidas and beleive me he has replaced none other than the famous beckham.
rather i think that ours is the best religion , as it has come out after modifying and shedding the unnecessary parts of hindu religion. any person having commonsense , wud agree that man has always achieved better results with time over any developement that has happened in history/past... and the same holds true here too. 

# re: Adult sikhs have a choice, Children dont have a choice to laugh at sardarji jokes. 5/15/2005 5:03 PM panic

its sad.. but u cant help the myopiic masses who do not see things beyond a confined theatre....

# re: Adult sikhs have a choice, Children dont have a choice to laugh at sardarji jokes. 5/15/2005 5:00 PM Panic

Its the result of a basic human tendedcy which is commonly understood as sadism....wenever u laugh at such jokes...it reveals sadism
of ur soul....
its kind of unconscious indulgence....

# re: Adult sikhs have a choice, Children dont have a choice to laugh at sardarji jokes. 5/15/2005 4:29 PM ratanjit singh

im proud of u kulveer that u have had the thought process to discuss on an issue which every sikh faces , but has not voiced it in such a literate manner.
im my self a sikh and am highly proud of my culture and my fellow men and even their achievements, like fauja singh the 93 yrs old marathon man in uk is the brand ambassador for adidas and beleive me he has replaced none other than the famous beckham.
rather i think that ours is the best religion , as it has come out after modifying and shedding the unnecessary parts of hindu religion. any person having commonsense , wud agree that man has always achieved better results with time over any developement that has happened in history/past... and the same holds true here too. 

# re: Adult sikhs have a choice, Children dont have 5/15/2005 3:54 PM sandeep

I think the point is very pertinent. Humour, what we try to pass off as 'harmless fun', is always political - always directed towards a minority or a vilnerable group. The butt of all community jokes, come to think of it, are sardarjis, biharis, women, gays and black people. As a gay man myself, I have had my friends crack highly offensive gay jokes and getting pissed off makes them tell me that it was only a joke. No, its not only a joke - you are making fun of my being, my identity, my entire community. Please keep your humour to yourself - if you find me acceptable, be my friend. Otherwise, keep off.

# re: Adult sikhs have a choice, Children dont have a choice to laugh at sardarji jokes. 5/15/2005 3:44 PM Shaindilkumar

Jokes are truely jokes whether they involve a fictitious character or a non-fictitious one. But essentially jokes are told and laughed at just for fun but if the character in the joke may be a sardarji or an american or any countrymen, the laughter becomes loud because of the preconceived notion about these characters. Sardarji jokes are just character based and nobody has ever underestimated their contribution to country and this country's well being. Good luck.

# re: Adult sikhs have a choice, Children dont have a choice to laugh at sardarji jokes. 5/15/2005 3:40 PM DirtD0ggy

you got point. infact the most fucking pathetic advertisement i have seen was of pepsi making a butt of jokes of harbhajan singh. sometime i feel its your community which tolerates and so aggraavates the whole fucking issue.
perhaps might will be right to these muthafuckin racists

# re: Adult sikhs have a choice, Children dont have a choice to laugh at sardarji jokes. 5/15/2005 1:35 PM Brajesh

Jokes made on any religion by 'n large maybe of the likes of banta/ santa are mostly said 'n taken in right spirit. But, yes there is always right time & env to crack jokes may on anything or anyone but should never be made on community at large espeically for the sikhs who have really made india proud. The community whose list of great achievers/ scholars does'nt stops of which our hounr'able prime-minister Dr. Manamohan Singh is foremost exp. So, the point is correctly made & I hope should ideally be taken by every of us.

# re: Adult sikhs have a choice, Children dont have a choice to laugh at sardarji jokes. 5/15/2005 12:39 PM Ram Shah

I used to have Sardarji jokes on my website. After reading this blog, I have removed these jokes and instead put up an apology for having these jokes on my webpage. Apology can be seen at:
http://www.public.asu.edu/~ssshah2/timepass.htm 

I did not even think how these jokes might be affecting sikh kids. My experience with Sikh people have been amazing. They are the most innocent people around. One thing is sure they are no "morons" as the jokes always present them to be. What better example than our own beloved PM Dr. Manmohan Singh? 

-Ram Shah

# re: Adult sikhs have a choice, Children dont have a choice to laugh at sardarji jokes. 5/15/2005 12:32 PM Saif Mahmood

I just dont read any jokes on any sardarjis now a days. I used to laugh at those jokes before but it seems that everyother silly joke is on them. I see many stupid people myself and it doesnt occur to me why sardars have to be made a scapegoat for such long. Weve crossed the limit and being stupid ourselves.

# re: Adult sikhs have a choice, Children dont have a choice to laugh at sardarji jokes. 5/15/2005 11:45 AM Suhas Chande

I spent the first 5 years of my life in Delhi. Then, after some years in Hyderabad, I came to Mumbai as a 9 yr old. Both in Delhi and in Mumbai, we had sikhs as our neighbours.
Ever since that time, I have failed to understand why jokes against this community are tolerated. I have seen my sikh friends (10 yr olds) cry in humiliation. Even as a child, it used to hurt me.
Now, at 40, I still fail to understand why Indians are not maturing to this issue. It is high time Sikhs are respected. Not for their contributions to the country, but just because they ARE.
Respect them because they are humans. They have feelings, emotions, sentiments just like every other community on earth.
I hope we can start a drive to cleanse people's minds of the stupid ideas that people have cultivated for far too long.

# re: Adult sikhs have a choice, Children dont have a choice to laugh at sardarji jokes. 5/15/2005 9:20 AM Gujaratis

I do feel the same. The problem is that people do somewhat "loose logic" associating the joke and the type of people. And this should certainly go. There should be certainly some movement to change it. I know what happened during partition time and when, the wives and sisters werent safe. On that basis, the joke of 12 'o' clock was made which is too pathetic to be taken for granted for certain community. I have many sardar friends, and all are fun loving and intelligent. I do certainly believe, that, its because, the community hasnt objected on this matter whenever this joke arouse. That should be done in friendly way. I will certainly and strongly support that. 

# re: Adult sikhs have a choice, Children dont have 5/15/2005 8:54 AM Arun

I'm not sure that is a solution. Yeah, the kids will not be made fun of due to their religious beliefs, but they will be made fun of due to something else. I have been made fun of by my classmates, and I've given it back. I dont hate the kids who did it or their communities. I think it is ok.
As a nation, we take jokes very poorly. Make a movie parodying nurses, they go on strike. Make a serial poking fun at police, they make a noise. Our country is very poor when it comes to respecting freedom of expression. In fact, Time published an article on Vajpayee asleep on the job, they get screwed. Tehelka gets screwed too! Very bad!

# re: Adult sikhs have a choice, Children dont have a choice to laugh at sardarji jokes. 5/15/2005 7:59 AM Goldy Rattan, Tokyo

This is a platform where educated Indians are discussing such a sensitive yet logical issue. What about the common man?? It's the responsibility of the media and cinema to provide the right picture of "Sikhs" to the society.
First of all the reason why this silly "Barah-Baj Gayey" slogan came into being must be told to our kids who will then appreciate that under the Sikh Gurus it was the ''Guerilla Warfare Tactics'' that prompted the enemy to paraphrase this line. Becoz the fighters always took their enemy by surprise and attacked them mostly at midnight or noon time (Lunch n Siesta time).
Being a Hindu from Punjab and very close to our Sikh brethren, I, like most of Indians know what crucial part the Sikhs have played in the uplift of Indian society.
First of all even the Sikhs should not themselves be a party to such characters being portrayed in the movies n Adverts. Yes, we do have some who gleefully act in this way.
And yes, we Indians have grown in a way to laugh at ourselves, but this Sardarji and Santa/Banta thing has really gone too far.... 

I wish there was some real artist who could change the Indian psyche of humour which at present is centralised on Sardarji jokes. 

And believe me, its the sight of a turbaned Sikh that warms my heart and brings a smile on my face while being so far away from motherland....charity begins at home and let's stop reciting and listening to such silly jokes at home and get togethers...

# re: Adult sikhs have a choice, Children dont have a choice to laugh at sardarji jokes. 5/15/2005 5:16 AM satish

I did this mistake in the past. But I always wondered why Sardarjis are portrayed this way. All of my Sardarji friends are very intelligent people. I have never come across a single Sardarji who is not intelligent and good natured. The realization that what I have been doing is wrong dawned on me almost 3 years back. Now I neither share those jokes not laugh at. 

Most of the people who enjoy sardarji jokes will not enjoy the same joke if "Sardarji" is replaced with their community name.

# re: Adult sikhs have a choice, Children dont have a choice to laugh at sardarji jokes. 5/15/2005 1:22 AM Rajeev Kumar

I have highest of regards for the sikh community. Their contribution towards the development of country is second to none. And We as Hindus must not forget that Sikhism originated from hinduism only and later Sikh Gurus formed militant form of Sikhism for the noble cause of protecting Hindus. I have found Gurudwaras most soothing and comforting. And I also would like to assert that Sikhism is one of the most modern religions free from the ills most of other religions suffering from. I have never wholeheartedly laughed at jokes on Sardarjis, howsoever well made the jokes have been. Today onwards I will make it a point to be more sensitive and more active towards this issue.
I highly appreciate the maturity an adult sikh invariably exhibits but one can not expect same level of maturity from a kid. We as a multi-religious, multi-lingual, multi-racial soceity take a lot of pride our 'Unity in Diversity' theme. And this very concept is one of the pillers of our constitution and anything that adversly affects that piller and that lofty theme tentamounts to going against the constitution.
Every right thinking parent must sensitise their children towards not only the feeling of sikh but other minority children. We must bring them up with right kind of values that makes them sensitive towards other's sentiments. Children are like saplings that we would like to be a tree sometimes in the future. And you would like to put water and other nourishments to your sapling not the poison "in form of insensitive jokes". 

# re: Adult sikhs have a choice, Children dont have 5/15/2005 12:38 AM sharad

i wholeheardtedly agree with you being a non-sikh myself i find jokes or even analyses targetting entire communities or sects meaningless and pointless.

# re: Adult sikhs have a choice, Children dont have a choice to laugh at sardarji jokes. 5/15/2005 12:03 AM rajsingh

i am not a sikh and endorse the view.in early years of life i too was stupid enough,at least to laugh with most others.i am ashamed now for that and regret for ever. 

rajkumar singh
brooklyn,new york.

# re: Adult sikhs have a choice, Children dont have a choice to laugh at sardarji jokes. 5/14/2005 11:28 PM anurag

I agree with the statement that sardarji jokes have had their day. Its time we moved on.Howeve, unforunately we r not known for our humour as Indians. I empathise with the Sikh parents whose kids face the butt of these jokes.There is no big deal in a joke here or there. Al communities do get their share of it but i agree the sardarji thng has gone too far.usually i hv fond all my Sikh pals very lively, fun loving and full of life. Thats one reason why these jokes are going around. Cos the Sikhs dont seem to mind.They take it with a sense of humour unknown to most Indians. yet, its truly commented here that fundamentalists can use this to turn some harmless banter into a poison arrow.I hvnt sen the movie 'jo bole so.' but the movement against it is fodder for the hotheads.As it is, minorities in any nation always live with a sense of victimisation. Sikhs ere always integrated totally into the socalled Hindu scene. Yet latter developments hv meant assrtion of an ideentity separate frm the wider Hindu umbrella. Thats not a big issue, being Indian in spirit is more important. 

Having said that i feel its the responsbilty of parents to consciously teach their kids the importance of being sensitive to Sikh kids feelings. Given their big hearted and outgoing spirit, I am sure even they will laugh it off if some sesitnivty is shown on the subject. 

But whether the culture of crassness which is risng in the country will allow for such gentlemanliness is debatable.

# re: Adult sikhs have a choice, Children dont have 5/12/2005 3:31 PM guess

point noted and taken in right spirit too!
many of us here have understood the effect this has on kids and are mature enough to take the right steps.
but u have written the same thing in different words again and again.
botoom line :point noted and taken!

# re: Adult sikhs have a choice, Children dont have a choice to laugh at sardarji jokes. 5/12/2005 2:42 PM sardarni

being a sardarni and proud of it, the only thing I can say is that after a PJ on sardars is told, I find that the teller of the joke invariably sounds more stupid than he is