The Sikh Cartoonscape

The 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington changed the world in many ways. As a Sikh living and working few miles from New York City, I had to confront a sudden upsurge of hate crimes from ignorant Americans who mistook me for an Arab.  In the midst of the hate crime wave, I remember seeing an editorial cartoon by an American cartoonist portraying the real terrorist in the Unites States. It was not a brown skinned Hispanic, Sikh, Buddhist or an Arab but it was a white ignorant American venting out his anger. That provided the spark for me to start creating cartoons of my own.

I had seen newspapers around the world with editorial cartoonists who interpret and analyze news of the day putting it all into an image that speaks louder than words. Significantly, I did not see a single cartoonist focusing on the fifth largest religious community in the world, the Sikhs. I decided to start creating cartoons focusing on Sikh news exclusively. 

Sikhs living in Punjab, United States, Canada, United Kingdom and beyond became the source of my imagination. Armed with my laptop and right index finger on a touchpad I started creating cartoons on a weekly basis. The first Sikhtoons were mostly a black and white affair with single panel drawings focusing on the struggles with Sikh identity issues in the west and corrupt Sikh leadership in Punjab.

The most personal and engaging cartoons were created commemorating the November 1984 genocide of Sikhs in Delhi. As a survivor having witnessed mobs guided by local police going on a rampage after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, editorial cartoons provided an outlet to the personal and collective tragedy. What lent an edge to these cartoons is not only that thousands were burnt alive but the fact that none of the guilty has been brought to justice.  

I quickly learned editorial cartooning mostly thrives on contradictions. Unfortunately, Sikhs are blessed with a variety of contradictions within the community and many originating from the outside.

Sikhs love to advertise equality of humankind yet we practice the caste system with a vengeance. Sikhs love to highlight emancipation of women yet we have one of the highest rates of female infanticide in South Asia.  We are blessed with one of the worst leaderships in the world which would make even Aurangzeb perk up his ears in grave. In our young 500 year history we have faced unprecedented persecution yet majority of us are content with the status quo.  Against all odds Sikh history is replete with countless heroes, both men and women with dynamic virtues.

Needless to say the budding editorial cartoonist inside me was handed a treasure of material that can last a lifetime. On occasion I have moved out of Sikh news and created imaginary Sikh Olympians, Sikh clothing store equivalent of GAP, a Sikh ice skater, Sikh incredible and Sikh weight watchers.

Over the course of few years Sikhtoons.com has built a fan base around the world. Words of support have arrived from all corners of the world along with a few threats from those who wish to silence any voices highlighting the injustices committed at the hands of the Indian state. All of these have only inspired more Sikhtoons.

As there is no other source, diverse Sikh news portals, websites and magazines feature Sikhtoons on a regular basis. Sikhs from North America, Europe, South Asia and beyond have shared their support. This support has translated into Sikhtoons exhibits in museums, film festivals and galas. Sikhtoons workshops have been held at youth camps and retreats to inspire young Sikhs to pursue their own artistic proclivity.

Sikhtoons.com recently celebrated its 6^th anniversary. Close to 700 Sikhtoons are available for view on the archives section of the website. To celebrate the occasion, a new feature has been started on the website to further engage fans around the globe.  A caption contest is held on a monthly basis wherein a cartoon image is created for caption submissions. The funniest caption submission is declared the winner and published on the website along with the author’s name and is offered freebies.

Soon, a new redesigned and enlarged version of the website will be released along with the much awaited online shopping center with Sikhtoons merchandise available for purchase.

Sikhtoons.com promises to bring you cartoons on a weekly basis along with more pleasant surprises in the coming months and years. The choices are endless. Cartoon strips, illustrated novels, comic books, animated features, movies are some of choices available at our disposal. The future of Sikh cartooning is in our hands.

Vishavjit Singh may be contacted at [email protected]

14 January 2009