Trevor Noah Calls the Possibility of an India-Pakistan War ‘Entertaining’

It’s never too late to wake up on a Friday morning and swallow a fresh pile of racism along with that weak office coffee. And if it’s coming from South African satirist and political commentator Trevor Noah—son to a black Xhosa mother and a white Swiss father who takes jibes on racism in his own country every other day—well, you must set that bad coffee down and think: Did it go too far this time?

This morning, the Indian subcontinent woke up to Trevor Noah’s latest episode of the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (it aired on February 28).

Noah’s explainer involves comparing the animosity between India and Pakistan to that of the Cardi B and Nikki Minaj feud (oh-kay), albeit a “less dangerous one” (um, thank you?). And then this happens: “Obviously, I hope that India and Pakistan don’t go to war, but if they did go to war, it would probably be the most entertaining war of our time coz the Indian soldiers would run out to the battlefield and they’d be like, [insert “Indian” accent and a cheap imitation of Bollywood dance number].”

Well.

If you’ve been in India over the last two weeks, it’s hard to miss the emotions that the country (and especially social media) is currently riding high on. For those who resonated with the joke, here’s a bit of a background on an extremely volatile situation: On February 14, 40 Central Reserve Police Force died in an attack reportedly carried out by the Pakistan-based Islamic militant outfit, Jaish-e-Mohammed, in Kashmir. India blamed Pakistan. Pakistan denied.

On February 26, the Indian Air Force crossed the Line of Control and dropped bombs in the Pakistani district of Balakot, leading to a terrifying India-Pakistan standoff and the possibility of a war. Two days of cross-border firing and shelling (and a shitton of fake WhatsApp news and Twitter jingosim) later, Pakistan shot down two Indian jets and captured one pilot. In what is considered the most drastic de-escalation of a perpetually escalating relationship between two entities (move over, #BraGa), Pakistan is returning the Indian soldier to India as we speak.

So, what are the lessons learnt? That dehumanising of the act of terror and war on people, and erasing the history and visibility of a whole subcontinent through “satirical political commentary” is (a) racist and (b) the death of good comedy. That Noah’s “act” deepens this arrogantly-western and racially-enforced schism that the Indians and the South Asian diaspora have been struggling to bridge for generations. That Noah’s sketch is an offshoot of the prevailing tone used for immigrants and non-white humans in America. That Indians do *not* talk like that. And we definitely do *not* dance like that.

Obviously, Twitter is not impressed either (I know you're asking, "When is it ever?" but this is a special case, okay?):

In the end, I would like to remind you of this telling conversation between Noah and Hari Kondabolu, the American stand-up comic and son of Indian immigrants. In 2017, Kondabolu wrote and starred in The Problem of Apu, which points out the damaging effects of negative stereotypes, racial microaggressions and slurs against the South Asian community through a popular cartoon character created by Americans and which stars in The Simpsons.

Kondabolu, in his interview with Noah, says, “Just because something's funny doesn't make it right. In fact, if something is wrong, the fact that it's funny makes it easier to push it forward. That's how any kind of propaganda works. That's how anything that is good art that has a messed-up message works.” At one other point on this show, while discussing stereotypes, he asks Noah: “I got to explain this to you?”

Turns out, yes, Hari, you do.

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