The Gag Order from Heaven

On what Jay Leno’s ‘insult’ to Sikhs says about humour and the religious zealot

Some years back, the late Christopher Hitchens wrote an eulogy to an Italian journalist called Oriana Falacci in Vanity Fair. She was one the great interviewers of the 70s and 80s. In his article, Hitchens mentions an encounter of Falacci with Ayatollah Khomeini. She had to wear a chador. In the interview, she asked Khomeini how women could be forced to wear the garment in Iran and did it not represent gender apartheid. Khomeini said it was none of her concern and she was not obliged to wear it. To which she said ‘Thank you’ and proceeded to take it off. She was immediately taken away, and Khomeini’s son told her it was the only time he had actually seen his father laugh.

What is interesting is not that Khomeini laughed but why he doesn’t laugh at all otherwise. You could ask the same question of other religious fundamentalists or, say, suicide bombers—do they ever laugh? And even if they do, do they ever laugh at themselves? Would Praveen Togadia crack a joke?

There are many forms of humour. If you set aside sarcasm and irony—which can actually be devoid of humour when used in a sermon or during a debate—most of the others will not find any resonance with fundamentalists. Pun, satire, mimicry, slapstick, absurdities, Nonsensism–you just can’t imagine men of extreme conviction indulging in any of it. On Times Now channel on Tuesday, there was a Sikh leader from the US helplessly asking Arnab Goswami why Jay Leno would want to poke fun at his religion. Leno, in his popular NBC show, shows a picture of the Golden Temple as “Mitt Romney’s summer residence.” Actually, he doesn’t even call it the Golden Temple in the show. It is mentioned as a house in Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire. The picture was used because the Golden Temple looks opulent. As satire, it is not exceptionally funny, but uses a favourite technique of humour—exaggeration. The befuddled Sikh on Times Now probably knows that the object of ridicule is Romney and not his religion. But that doesn’t matter. People who are constantly looking for insults and slights will find them round every corner. And that is why they don’t laugh.

About The Author

Madhavankutty Pillai

Madhavankutty Pillai has no specialisations whatsoever. He is among the last of the generalists. And also Open chief of bureau, Mumbai  

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