http://o3.indiatimes.com/sardarji
I hope you don't mind buddy if I tell another joke, he said. "Of course not! I have no mind", I said, as everybody joined in the laughter. "Once there was a Sardarji traveling in a train, and you know what ", he continued, I had already stopped listening, my ears were straining as I tried to shut out the loud guffaws already filling the room. The most difficult part was yet to come. I, a Sardar myself, had to laugh at the opportune moment to show that I was a good sport. Ahh there it is, the laughter, "Ha Ha Ha "I laugh, "that was a good one buddy, where do you learn these excellent jokes from", I complemented him. This was a closely rehearsed reaction that I had slowly acquired over my years of listening to these enlightening jokes spreading a light on my ilk.
During my adolescence I was not as sporty, of course. At times, I was in my sister's college, with a bunch of goons, flexing my muscles, to put the message across to a classmate of hers who had sent her crying home for being a Sikh. At times, in college, I used to shout at the joke-er, argue my points and invariably walkout of the party in a huff. Being a six-footer, I could really put my point across with a bang if it came to that. And then my close buddies would chase and try to cool me down.
"It's just a joke buddy, we all respect your community. You mustn't be so narrow minded not to take a joke on yourself" one would say. "Only a community that learns to laugh at itself can be called a civilized community" "look at Khushwant Singh, if he can laugh at himself why cant you" .."Take the jokes as a tribute to your community's fun loving nature" .the advice used to come thick and fast. And then my well- wishers would go back to the party, parting with a sympathetic pat on my shoulder.
I used to convince myself that perhaps I was wrong, I used to curse myself for being a spoilsport and would slowly walk my steps to the party only to see a hush in the crowd as I stepped in, as the flow of their jokes stopped midway. Of course they didn't want to continue the jokes in my presence, they could always wait for the joke to finish till I was not around. I slowly mingled in the crowd trying to put everybody at ease. Such incidents continued and my ambivalence reduced. Perhaps I was maturing as a person. At least my adolescence memories are not as bad as those from my childhood!
I still remember my childhood days when I was in school. The lone Sardarji in a class of fifty, perhaps the only one in my school. My school, for me, was the best school in the world, the teachers were great, the playgrounds were beckoning and I led the class academically. Everything was great and I used to come home with a glee on my face, except those days when the whole class would start laughing at me as the clock turned twelve. Sardarji ke barah baj gaye, Sometimes they even pulled at my hairs to clarify what they meant. I never could understand the linkage between the clock and me, but I used to dread the dong of the bell as it struck the noon hour. And when I used to come home crying, my Mom would take me in her arms and tell me tales of valour of the Sikh warriors, tales that told me of days of plunder and gore by the then rulers amongst the hindu masses. Tales of how the militant wing of the masses the Sikhs retaliated at midnoon or midnight and rescued the kidnapped women from their clutches, when the guards were asleep. She told me how the rulers of that age began to dread the clock at twelve for fear of Sikh attacks, and somehow their fearful exclamation had evolved into this sarcastic remark. Little comfort it was to my little soul then! I wanted to shout at the top of my voice, and tell all my classmates my mom's tales, if only anybody cared to listen. The clock kept on striking twelve and my mates kept on having fun at my expense, if they could not put me down any other way, this was the best way to shut me down for good, at least for an hour.
The clock still strikes twelve as I work in my office in a reputed company, and there is still the occasional barah baj gaye' remark from my officers when I make a mistake, or from my subordinates when I lose my temper around that time. There is still the occasional round of jokes that portray my community as a bunch of morons who don't know the left hand from right. Sitting across the table with my colleagues, I am supposed to appreciate the jokes and laugh intelligently at the opportune moment.
Much water has flown over the bridge since the reality of being the butt of jokes really struck me. What the heck! I can't change the world. I can take such things in the stride, if I am to avoid strife with my colleagues and friends.
The only times that I still retaliate is when I am a part of some family gatherings and I feel a joke directed at my father. I still feel that portraying my community as a bunch of jokers, is an insult to my entire ancestry, my father, my grandfather and great grandfather who fought for the country, and the gurus who gave their life to protect the meek.
The circle of falsehood needs to be stopped. I have never ceased to marvel at the sheer capacity of these jokes to propagate even amongst five-year-old children. Perhaps it is the enlightened parents who inculcate their sanskar amongst their children.
Or is it the media that has its share of fun? I have been meekly watching entire Sardarji jokes sections in reputed internet portals, like Indiatimes.com (and even on Pakistani portals who take these jokes invented in India to a higher plane) I have been watching chain e-mails with Sardarji jokes circulating all over the net. And I have been seeing sickening Sardarji jokes in reputed newspapers.
Very often these jokes tend to propagate as just another innocent fascia of secular India, without a second thought to the people being laughed at, without a thought to their impact on impressionable minds, and without a thought to the insulting overtones they may acquire in the hands of a fundamentalist.
Please spare future generations from these jokes! Please don't propagate such jokes, especially amongst children! Do we want to continue inculcating this culture of racist remarks amongst our children!
I have learnt to take the jokes as a fact of life, but I don't want my son to come home crying. The joke is on us, but please spare our children their tears!
posted on Saturday, April 30, 2005 2:50 PM by Kulveer Singh
http://o3.indiatimes.com/sardarji/archive/2005/04/30/106801.aspx
Well, this brings me to most often repeated snide remark against the Sikhs. BARAH BAJ GAYE.. (for the un-initiated, who might be reading this post, it means, "It is twelve of clock") a remark that intends to imply that Sardars go into a 'mad' mood at twelve o' clock.
Every Sikh has been at the receiving end of this remark quite often. But do the reciters of the story, know the truth behind it?
NOW THE STORY
During 17th Century when Hindustan was ruled by Mughals all the people were humiliated and were treated like animal. Mughals treated the Hindu women as there own property and were forcing all Hindus to accept Islam and even used to kill the people if they were refusing to accept.
That time our Ninth Guru Sri Guru Teg Bhadarji who came forward, in request of some Kashmir Pandits to fight against all these cruel activities. Guruji told the Mughal emperor if he could succeed in converting him to Islam all the Hindus would accept the same but if he failed, he should stop all those activities . The Mughal emperor happily agreed to that but even after lots of torture to Guruji and his fellow members he failed to convert him to Islam and Guruji along with his other four fellow members who were also tortured for the same sacrificed their lives in Chandni Chowk. Since the Mughals were unable to convert them to Islam they were assassinated. Tthus Guruji sacrificed his life for Protection of Hindu religion. Can anybody lay his life that too for protection of some other religion. This is the reason he is still remembered has Hind Ki Chaddar . For sake of whom he had sacrificed his life, none of the them came forward to lift his body with a fear that they would also be assassinated .
Guru Gobind Singh
Seeing this incident our 10th Guruji, Sri Guru Gobind Singhji (Son of Guru Teg Bahadarji) made a resolution that he would make such a human who would not be able to hide himself and could be easily located in thousands, THE SIKH.
At the start Sikhs were very less in numbers even though they were fighting against the Mughals emperors. At that time Nadir Shah raided Delhi in the year 1739 and looted Hindustan and was carrying lot of Hindustan treasures and nearly 2200 Hindu women along with him. The news spread like a fire and was heard by Sardar Jassa Singh who was the Commander of the Sikh army at that time . He decided to attack Nadir Shah's Khafila on the same midnight. He did so and rescued all the Hindu women and they were safely sent to their homes. It didn't happen only once but thereafter whenever any Abdaalis or Iranis had looted Hindustan and were trying to carry out treasures and Hindu women along with them for selling them in Abdal markets, the Sikh army quite few in numbers but were bravehearted attacked them in the midnight,12 O'clock and rescued women.
Sikh fighterAfter that time when there occurred a similar incidence people started to contact the Sikh army for their help and Sikhs used to attack the raider's at Midnight, 12 O'clock. It continued and became a fame that at midnight nearly at 12 O'clock it is very difficult to fight against Sikhs as the Sikhs get some Extra Power to save Religion, Nation and Humanity. Nobody can fight and win against them at midnight, this continues till now. Nowadays these smart people and some Sikh enemies who are afraid of Sikhs, have spread these words that at 12 O'clock the Sikhs goe out of their sense.
With 'guerilla' tactics, they continued to attack the Muslim camps and liberated the Hindu women from the clutches. The usual time of such attacks was either at noon, or midnight. The attacks were so ferocious, that the Muslims began dreading the expected attacks of the Sikhs at 12 o' clock, midnight or noon.
It was these people, the marauders, who coined the phrase that "Sardaron ke barah baj gaye".
And Now, THE IRONY; the descendents of the rescued people are making fun of the rescuers!!!!!
I think any person who repeats this sentence against the Sikhs is making fun of the meekness of his own lineage.
posted on Thursday, May 26, 2005 12:12 PM by Kulveer Singh
http://o3.indiatimes.com/sardarji/archive/2005/05/26/121916.aspx