The Jay Hind Comedy Show staff has offered an unconditional apology for a video that made a mockery of Fauja Singh, the Sikh Olympic Torch bearer, but it seems the apology comes without fully understanding the issue at hand. It is also important to mention that the apology was tendered after Sikh Organisations, namely Navkiran Singh and Associates based in Chandigarh, have committed to file a lawsuit against the anchor Sumeet Raghvan for hurting the sentiments of the Sikh community and defaming Fauja Singh.
Jay Hind Fails to Realize the Issue with the Comedy
Although at a high level, the comedy skit shows Fauja Singh in a humorous light, the video has been termed derogatory by Sikhs and non-Sikhs alike. Apart from mocking Fauja Singh, the comedy mentions the 1984 Genocide, in an implication that Fauja Singh has been “running” ever since 1984.
Post 1984, many Sikhs had to take refuge in other countries to avoid the brutalities of the Indian Government. Over the past three decades, tens of thousands of Sikhs have been massacred causing Sikhs to flee Punjab in droves. The very mention of 1984 reminds Sikhs of the brutal days following 1984 and for anyone to make jokes about such harsh times is inappropriate.
BBC Radio Jockey Interview Leaves Jay Hind Staff Speechless
BBC host Nihal Arthanayake, a non-Sikh, interviewed the Jay Hind staff including the host Sumeet Raghvan. Fauja Singh’s personal trainer Harminder Singh was also on the show when the Jay Hind team was left speechless. The Jay Hind team was unable to respond to questions such as why they showed Fauja Singh wiping his face with his beard and how they could talk about the genocide of Sikhs in a humorous way.
At the end, the producer and the presenter resorted to saying that for their actions, they have been under attack by the Sikh community, including insulting remarks. They have perhaps failed to realize that for being in the media, Jay Hind has a wider responsibility to ensure their shows do not insult other communities. On the other hand, individuals expressing anguish are individuals alone—they do not represent the entire Sikh community.
Recording of the Interview by Nihal is available at BBC’s iPlayer.
Mockery of Sikhs — The Problem at Large
The Jay Hind producers may have been stumped by the wide criticism they received for the short segment they aired back in December. In the past, a comment by the BBC host Nihal who has played a respectable role in interviewing the staff of Jay Hind and the personal trainer of Fauja Singh, had upset the Sikh community as well when he implied that the Sikh religion was influenced by other religions. The host was also met with criticism by the Sikh community but he has since apologized and not uttered any other controversial remarks.
For the Sikhs however, this is a continuous problem being faced every day – Sikhs have continued to witness a mockery of their faith by the Indian media at a large scale. Indian movies and soap operas are notorious for insulting the sentiments of the Sikh community. Their “12 o’clock” jokes are examples of how lowly the media treats the Sikh community. In addition, the Hindutva organisations are infamous for trying to influence the Sikh religion with the beliefs of the Hindus. Such mischievous efforts have continued to haunt the Sikh community and therefore angers Sikhs across the globe.
