hHe won’t crack jokes about Tinder dating, arranged marriages or Indian mall culture. In his sold-out Delhi show ‘Untouchable’, Dalit stand-up comedian Manjit Sarkar had only one goal in mind: to make his audience move uncomfortably in their seats.
From Brahmin ignorance to liberal guilt, Naxalites’ ignorance about Karl Marx to right-wing spelling mistakes and embarrassing dumb questions journalists ask – the government spares no one in its relentless, power-packed showdown.
Laughter in all this was his last mission. In fact, Sarkar said, if a joke is too popular, he will change it. In that sense, he is a comedian like no other.
Sarkar begins his show with his now-popular punchline: ‘I am a Dalit but identify as a Brahmin,’ a scathing remark aimed at highlighting the centuries of oppression Dalits have endured under the oppressive caste system.
The comedian’s experiences with audiences in the past came to the fore with a comment that spoke not only to his show but also to India’s everyday social reality: “A lot of people come just to abuse. But I have my defense mechanism ready for them—I just touch them.”
Sarkar’s factual presentation style works like a charm. And his genius in combining his social commentary with trite facts compels his audience to not only consume his ‘jokes’ but Thinking about them. Like when he says that he makes people Dalits. “I touch them, they bathe in the Ganges but it is so polluted that no one is touching them afterwards.”
Capitalism became his next target, as he wasted no time in mirroring privileged audiences, forcing them to confront their own advantages and social status.
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common theme, different perspective
True to his word, Sarkar delves into his personal journey, highlighting his upbringing and instances of caste oppression in a village in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar.
However, the true brilliance of the government’s performance lay in its ability to deal not only with the struggles of Dalits but also with wider social issues. Topics such as depression, mental health, domestic violence, child labor and religion were deftly interwoven into his satirical performances, ensuring that the audience engaged on multiple levels.
As the show unfolds, Sarkar forces us to look at topics like depression differently by reminding us about the difference between accepting mental illness and the ability to seek treatment for it. He joked that these concepts were foreign to the people of his village and were ‘reserved’ for the affluent. In his village, he quipped, the solution to feeling down was marriage, and the more depressed one felt, the more children one would have—an amusing take on measuring happiness.
For over-thinkers, the government turned out to be a true ally: “Overthinking is an ability. The other person is just thinking. I’m thinking more. You have brains. I have more brain than you.
Sarkar highlighted a lack of awareness of feminism and sexism in contrast to perceived urban superiority. She boldly called out the audience, saying that despite being familiar with these words in the age of social media, they often engage in sexism of various kinds, thus highlighting the irony of their supposed wisdom. Sarkar’s humorous commentary challenged societal norms and invited introspection, injecting a dose of laughter into uncomfortable truths.
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leaving with a desire for change
In a touching revelation, Sarkar jokes about how he feels superior to his classmates at school because the water in a glass is only for him. But this sense of superiority was later shattered by an anecdote that not only illuminated his deep consciousness of Dalit identity, but also wounded him physically and emotionally. Sarkar recounted how a woman had pelted stones at him for daring to drink water from a handpump. It is through such traumatic experiences that a Dalit child understands his place in society while grappling with the deeper implications of being a Dalit.
Yet, throughout his journey, Manjit Sarkar remained steadfast in his belief that media coverage often misrepresented his background. Journalists often portrayed her as a member of a Bangladeshi refugee family settled in Chhattisgarh who endured the hardships of child labour. While there were elements of truth in this narrative, the government insisted that it reflected the reality of countless Dalit children. He expressed a desire for empathy rather than mere condemnation, urging the media to highlight his achievements instead of focusing only on his struggles.
In a memorable encounter with a white journalist, Sarkar was faced with intriguing questions: “Does India need more Dalit comedians?” and “Why don’t you tell a Dalit joke?” The onlookers were shocked, but Sarkar quickly defused the tension by saying that he could not be as angry as the others. He said, “I am a comedian, I told them (journalists) a joke: ‘My girlfriend is a Brahmin’.”
Through his edgy humour, Manjeet Sarkar manages to deliver a thought-provoking and intellectually stimulating performance. His shows not only entertained but also challenged prevailing notions of privilege and caste dynamics, leaving viewers with a renewed sense of introspection and perhaps even a desire for change.
(Edited by Prashant)