Although most of my articles and posts are serious, sometimes, to create a lighter atmosphere, I joke too. But this has often got me into trouble, as most Indians have no sense of humour, and this, too, has contributed to me being described as a 'controversial judge'.
For instance, I once said on my Facebook page (in a lighter vein) that since Pakistanis have been insisting that Kashmir be given to them, we should agree on the condition that they take Bihar too as a package deal.
Many Biharis got very upset at this, and processions were taken out on the streets of many cities of Bihar against me, in which my effigies and posters were burnt. If I had been in Bihar at that time I may have been burnt too!
A criminal case was filed against me by a politician of Bihar, and I was condemned by the chief minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, and others.
So in some interviews I clarified that I was only joking.
Even with a little common-sense one can realise that I was joking. After all, I am only a retired person. What authority do I have to give Bihar to Pakistan? Also, Bihar is not contiguous to Pakistan. There are several states like UP, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan which lie in between. So how can Bihar be physically transported and handed over to Pakistan?
As for the statement that Bihar is a greater danger to India than Pakistan, this was said by my teacher in Allahabad University Firaq Gorakhpuri.
Firaq was once invited to an Urdu mushaira in some town in Bihar. Since many in the audience could not understand his difficult Urdu, they started hooting at him. Firaq, who was a hot tempered person, then made that remark, and I only quoted him (again in lighter vein).
A few days after this controversy I was at the Delhi airport where I met Meira Kumar, who as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha at that time. She is from Bihar, and I told her I had only joked when I said that Bihar should be given to Pakistan along with Kashmir. She smiled, and said, “Katju saheb, ab aap kuch din tak Bihar mat jaiyega (Justice Katju, for some time you should not go to Bihar).”
The Bihari actor and singer Khesri Lal Yadav made fun of me in one of his songs.
To put an end to the controversy I apologised to Biharis, saying I had great respect for them and was only joking.
Another time I got into trouble was when I joked about Odiyas. I had been putting up Facebook jokes about people of different states and communities in India. Someone from Odisha asked me to post something about his state too. So I posted this:
“I was asked to write about the Oriyas (Odias). What is there to write about these poor chaps? Ever since they got a thrashing at the hands of Emperor Ashoka in the battle of Kalinga they have been a dejected lot. Now all they have with them are a lot of pots (Patras), big pots (Mahapatras), and supposedly intelligent kings (Patnaiks). And of course they have Lord Jaggannath, to whom they pray every day for revenge against the abominable Biharis.
Hari Om.
P.S. Odias, this is just a joke, so don’t file a case against me.”
Now, as in the case of Bihar, this was just a joke, and to make that clear, I mentioned that in the last sentence.
Nevertheless, a hue and cry against me was started in Odisha, my posters and effigies were burnt.
Some Odiya youth living in Delhi came to my flat in Noida and raised slogans against me: “Markandey Katju hosh mein aao, hosh mein aao.”
As I did to Biharis, I apologised to Odiyas too, to put a quietus to the controversy.
I am a Brahmin, so I cracked this joke about myself: “Brahman 60 saal tak ponga rehta hai, aur uske baad sathiya jaata hai (A Brahman is a fool till 60, after which he becomes senile).”
I once made a sardarji joke: A sardarji received an invitation to a dinner party. The invitation card mentioned 'black tie only': When the sardarji reached the party he found men wearing shirts and pants also.
A petition was filed in the Supreme Court praying that an order be passed banning sardarji jokes. The Court referred the matter to retired Supreme Court Justice H.S. Bedi, who is himself a Sikh. (He and I sat together in the same bench of the Supreme Court for a long period.) Justice Bedi reported back that the petition was frivolous since sardarji jokes were common, and he himself cracked many. The petition was dismissed.
My advice, however, to all Indians is: do not crack jokes, as most of our people have little sense of humour, and you may end up in jail, or being lynched.
Justice Markandey Katju retired from the Supreme Court in 2011.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK.
