From Santa Banta jokes to Mohanlal's Monster, how 'Sardar' jokes have become dated

In the new Malayalam action thriller Monster, Mohanlal plays a man called Shivdev Subramaniam who leads a double life as a turban-wearing Sikh called Lucky Singh. And right when one would fear that this character doesn't fall prey to familar "Sardarji" stereotypes, that is what happens exactly with cliched Punjabi music playing in the background and Mohanlal delivering some of his most hammy performances in recent times as he deliver lines like "puttar, chal mere naal". 

For decades, Sardars in popular culture are either subjected to hypermasculine upper-caste representations (a phenomenon itself evoked by Punjabi icons like the late singer Siddhu Moosewala) or mere cartoonish characters used for comic relief. For the latter, Hindi media and popular culture also seems to have played a major part. 

Just take the case of Roshan Singh Sodi, one of the major characters of the long-running Hindi sitcom Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah. While the SAB TV show has no dearth of offensive stereotypes in its "diverse" cast, Sodhi is often treated as the most slow-witted character of the ensemble. The heavy drinking and jeep-riding Sardar does contribute to some of the show's funniest moments but not without a barrage of "balle balle balle", "oh papaji", and "burrahh" sounds in the background.

These days, Instagram influencers from Punjabi or Sikh backgrounds are trying to subvert such stereotypical depictions with reels and tweets to break the stigmas. Just take this recent reel by Ranvir Narula as a case in point. 

However, even beyond cinema and TV, the hurtful "Santa-Banta'' jokes have existed for the much part of the 80s and 90s and have still continued finding place in WhatsApp groups even in the current times. Not only do such jokes belittle Sardars as foolish men but their origins itself stem from a tragic chapter of Sikh history.

While there is no direct historical evidence to support this claim, there is a large consensus among Sikhs that the names "Santa" and "Banta" are derived from the names of former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's bodyguards-turned-assassins: Satwant Singh and Beant Singh. It is common knowledge in the country that the assassination eventually led to several anti-Sikh riots in 1984, the scars of which can still be felt within the Sikh community, especially the Sikhs of Delhi. 

Then, there is the equally infamous "12 o clock" (baarah baj gaye) joke which implies that Sardars can think properly and be in their senses only when the clock strikes twelve. Some jokes even imply that Sardars go insane around this time. However, the origin behind the joke can be traced back to Persian invader Nadir Shah's raids in the early 18th century. With his forces abducting several Hindu and Muslim women in parts of northern India, Sikh militias decided to rescue them. Outnumbered by Shah's forces, they resorted to stealthy midnight guerrilla raids instead of battles in the daylight. 

Naturally angered by the belittling of their community through such jokes, Sikh bodies have actively protested against such humor all over the world. In India, it is now a legal offence to crack such jokes. For instance, a Mumbai-based bookseller Ranjit Parande was arrested in 2007 for stocking copies of the Santa Banta Joke Book, booked under Section 295 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on the grounds of "hurting religious sentiments". Similarly, a Jalandhar local was booked under Section 295(A) and the IT Act for texting Santa-Banta jokes. 

However, there is also a school of thought within Sikh populations that suggest that outrage is not necessary for such jokes in bad taste. After all, renowned writer and journalist Khushwant Singh (who otherwise also wrote an acclaimed non-fiction book titled History of the Sikhs) had penned several joke books that satirised the Sardar community. Journalist and current Broadcast Content Complaint Council (BCCC) member Vir Sanghvi courted a lot of controversy from Sikhs when he wrote in a 2005 Hindustan Times column on how legal action against all "Sardarji" jokes by the National Comission of Minorities (NCM) is curbing free speech. 

Countering such hot takes, Maharashtra's former Director General of Police Parvinder Singh Pasricha (the second Sikh to hold this post) sums it up,