The Sikh who cracks turban jokes to fight stereotypes By Vikas Pandey

BBC News, Delhi Published duration 14 December 2015

image copyright SikhPark

Dalbir Singh believes humour has the power to challenge stereotypes.

And that's what he has been doing through his Facebook page SikhPark , which is loosely based on the popular animated series SouthPark.

Mr Singh told the BBC that he initially started making cartoons to highlight stereotypes about the Sikh community in the West.

"Sikhs sometimes face discrimination and attacks because of their appearance and turbans, which some people mistakenly end up identifying with groups like the Taliban. So I started sketching about this issue in 2007," he said.

He said his cartoons made people laugh but they also highlighted a crucial issue.

Mr Singh later started making cartoons about other aspects of the Sikh community like their food habits and arranged marriages.

"Sikh men are very often asked funny questions about their turban, so a good number of my cartoons are about this topic," he said.

He said humour "should always be pure and should never hurt religious sentiments".

The cartoonist added he did not agree with some lawyers who have filed case in a Delhi court to ban Sikh jokes.

"Humour is a great instrument to comment on social issues. And one should always be ready to take a joke or two," he said.

image copyright SikhPark

image copyright SikhPark

image copyright SikhPark image caption This cartoon comments on Canada's newly-appointed Sikh defence minister Harjit Sajjan

image copyright SikhPark

image copyright SikhPark

image copyright SikhPark

image copyright SikhPark

image copyright SikhPark

image copyright SikhPark

image copyright SikhPark

image copyright SikhPark

image copyright SikhPark