New Delhi: The campaign run by the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara management Committee (DSGMC) seeking ban on the jokes showing Sikhs in a bad light today got a boost when the Supreme Court of India directed DSGMC to prepare a draft of the policy and submit before the court in a given time frame.
A Supreme Court bench headed by Justice TS Takhur with Justice U.U. Lalit and R. Bhanumati gave the directions. The bench gave the directions after the lawyers who presented DSGMC case put forward their point that Sikhs are a progressive and brave community but Sikhs jokes put unnecessary social and mental pressure on children belonging to Sikh families.DSGMC took up the issue and filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a ban, as the Sikh jokes downplay their glorious past, heritage and culture, and a handful of people with bad motives make fun of Sikhs in schools and other public places.
![Supreme Court of India [File Photo]](https://sikhsiyasat.net/wp-content/uploads/SCI1.jpg)
Supreme Court of India [File Photo]
Advocates Rupinder Singh Suri and APS Ahluwalia who presented the case of DSGMC said that the Sikh jokes badly impacts the mental growth of children of Sikh families due to peer pressure as these jokes ridicule Sikh children and sought directions from the Supreme Court for formulating an act on the lines of anti ragging act.The advocates also told the Supreme Court bench that there are websites which are earning money by circulating Sikh jokes showing Sikhs as lesser citizens due to which the children belonging to Sikh families are reluctant to use Singh and Kaur with their names. The advocates who presented the case of DSGMC also demanded ban on discriminatory jokes showing other communities, ethnic group and geographical areas such as Bihari, Sindhi, pathans, Gujarati, north-easterns, which according to the advocates is attempt to show them in a bad light socially and intellectually.
Reacting to the issues raised by the DSGMC advocates Supreme Court bench was of the view that looking at the contribution of the Sikhs towards the nation the issue raised by DSGMC is actually need to be pondered and directed DSGMC to prepare a policy draft within six weeks.
DSGMC president Manjit Singh G.K. welcoming the Supreme Court’s decision said that the Supreme Court have indirectly accepted that in the garb of jokes Sikhs are made to suffer. “The constitution of our nation irrespective of any citizens’ caste, creed, colour and religion gives equal opportunities to everyone to progress but due to short sightedness of a handful of people the children of these communities and ethnic groups had to struggle and they feel helpless”, said G.K.
G.K. informed that he would involve Sikh intellectuals and legal luminaries to prepare a draft of the policy and an act to ban jokes showing different communities and ethnic groups in a bad light, within the time frame specified by the Supreme Court. “The directions by the Supreme Court have lifted the morale of Sikhs and it is an honour for the entire Sikh community and other ethnic groups who have suffered due to these jokes,” reiterated G.K.