No to Sardarji jokes

With a plethora of weighty legal questions already seizing its attention, the Supreme Court is now set to deliberate upon a PIL that is no laughing matter. Taking serious issue with about 5,000 websites displaying Sardarji and Santa-Banta jokes, a Sikh woman lawyer has complained that these websites 'spread jokes on Sardars/Sikhs, projecting them as unintelligent, stupid, idiot, foolish, ive, inept and not well versed with English'. Recounting her woes while staying in Europe, the petitioner said that she as a single parent, was dismayed at the ridicule suffered by her three children from their friends abroad. Their embarrassment was such that they insisted on not having Singh or Kaur as their surmes. 'The root cause of racism was the environment created by the websites due to the jokes targeting only Sikhs,' the petitioner rued, demanding that the Central government should either ban the websites or direct them to remove such jokes. While admitting the PIL for consideration, the apex court noted that the Sikh community is 'known for its great sense of humour' and they also enjoy such jokes. In fact, the late Khushwant Singh was known to have been a great purveyor of Sardarji jokes. How the apex court rules upon the matter will be looked forward to, but the Sikhs, like the Irish — have long displayed an endearing confidence of enjoying a laugh at their own expense.