The electoral farce in Punjab

Pushi Chowdhry

In theatre, a farce is a comedy that aims at entertaining the audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, and thus improbable. At a political rally you expect that you will hear the candidates’ viewpoint, achievements and plans if they win. But what you get in Punjab today is a farce. 

Comedy, music and dance — interspersed with political messages. Something funny is happening in Punjab. Our comedians are becoming politicians and our politicians are becoming comedians — and public life is turning into an endless stream of jokes.  

Politicians, meanwhile, are travelling in the opposite direction, and it’s easy to see why. They rely on jokes, or rather jokiness, rather than their track records for appeal. They are desperate to show their lighter sides. But every comedy routine must come to an end; at some point, we will all stop laughing. 

Comedy, like other forms of communication, can take someone from the  state of being uninformed to becoming either misinformed or informed (depending on the comedic message). Whether these comedy shows make  someone politically active has yet to be determined. There are historical references of satire being used for social change. Satire is to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted. But satire does not require laughter, whereas most comedy shows do require laughter (in order to be deemed successful). Is the political comedy show playing the audience for a quick laugh or for a deeper understanding? 

The big question involves people who do not “get” the joke — do not understand the comic premise. Will they seek information to understand the political messaging (or will they move to an informed state of mind)? Or will they merely act like they understand, and/or forget about the messaging as they move to their next entertainment activity/distraction? 

The best comedians are our most effective anthropologists and cultural critics. Politics and comedy have always been bedfellows, and the sharpest comedians’ brilliance is often revealed in their ability to navigate that territory, however bumpy it may potentially be. Political comedy, when done right, is a delivery system for truth. Today the threat to political comedy is that most jokes are flogged to death on social media within hours of being delivered. 

Punjab has a tradition of Marasis, Bhands and Naqqals. The Punjab electors have a bunch of comedians to choose from. To name a few — Sukhbir Badal, Navtoj Singh Sidhu, Gurpreet Ghuggi, Jasbir Jassi and Bhagwant Mann.  But for Punjabis to laugh about the sense of humour of their political leaders, they will need to be reborn as hyenas.