Swara Bhasker criticises Trevor Noah for insensitive remarks on Indo-Pak conflict; The Daily Show host responds to backlash

Swara Bhasker who is known to speak her mind has slammed comedian Trevor Noah over his insensitive comments on Indo-Pak tensions. South African comedian Trevor Noah, host of The Daily Show, during an episode, tried to find humour in the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. In the video, being shared widely on social media, Noah said that while he hopes India and Pakistan do not go to war, it would be the “most entertaining” war if they did. Swara Bhaskar has now taken to Twitter to call out the comedian and tell him that neither is war ‘funny’, nor Hindi ‘gibberish.’

@Trevornoah 1. War isn’t funny or entertaining. 2. Hindi is not gibberish. Ur stereotype of indo- pak is ignorant & racist. 3. Ur set smacks of essentialism & a patronising generalisation & is v #FirstWorld 4. Human lives were lost & at stake. SO disappointing! @ComedyCentral pic.twitter.com/c46TqB9btd

— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) March 1, 2019

Following recent developments, Bhaskar, in a separate tweet, spoke about India and Pakistan ‘walking back from brink of war.’

@Trevornoah @ComedyCentral a not racist & cruel version of this joke (IF Ur Writers was diverse)- India & Pak thankfully walking back from brink of war. Meanwhile, Bollywood looking to see how many dance numbers they can fit in2 movie version of this episode! Thanks @vedashastri pic.twitter.com/cjG3CBAVrd

— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) March 1, 2019

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Comedian Mallika Dua too slammed Noah over his remarks and took to Twitter to write, “Shockingly unintelligent & tone deaf What makes it sadder is that @Trevornoah cracked such a below average, shit joke. Something Russel Peters probably threw in the bin before his first open mic in life. If you’re going to be a racist comic than at least get the comic bit right.“

Agree! I’m actually a big admirer of his but this one was just lazy, arrogant writing! https://t.co/jPloSJrZNJ

— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) March 1, 2019

Noah, however, is not new to controversy. The Daily Show host recently introduced the best picture nominee Black Panther at the Oscars and had some fun with the idea that people think the fictional setting of the country of Wakanda is real, reported CNN. Noah joked about knowing the movie’s main character, T’Challa, played by Chadwick Boseman, and said, that growing up as a young boy in Wakanda, he would see T’Challa flying over their village, and he would remind them of a great Xhosa phrase, adding, “He says ‘abelungu abazi uba ndiyaxoka’ – which means, ‘In times like these, we are stronger when we fight together than when we try to fight apart.’” However, those who know the dialogue realised Noah actually said, “White people don’t know I’m lying.” Now, Noah has responded to the backlash and said that his joke got more coverage than the India-Pakistan tension. He also said that he made jokes about serious issues to “process pain and discomfort.”

It's amazing to me that my joke about the conflict in India and Pakistan trended more than the story of the actual conflict itself. Sometimes it seems like people are more offended by the jokes comedians make about an issue than the issue itself.

— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) March 2, 2019

Actually if you watch my stand up you'll see that I did make jokes after my mother was shot in the head. As a comedian I use comedy to process pain and discomfort in my world but I am sorry that this hurt you and others, that's not what I was trying to do. https://t.co/OuVnkHyIfG

— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) March 2, 2019