Humour and the Performance of Power in South Asia

‘Perera and Pathak weave together a number of ‘serious’ perspectives on humour. Inaugurating a novel method to excavate the nuances of cultural politics in South Asia, the book offers useful insights that both refine and deepen scholarship in South Asian studies. Edited by two prominent South Asianists, this book will profit all social scientists who are willing to undertake serious adventures beyond the predictable, formulaic and mainstream approaches. It is profoundly engrossing and enriching – a must read!’

Ashok Acharya, Professor, Department of political science, University of Delhi, India

‘Humour expands the field of politics at innocent moments, but to dissect the codes of subversive energy inherent in humour is extremely challenging. A pioneering effort at south Asian scale, here, the subversive politics, the hidden layers of the embedded past of the region and the cultural nuances of humour all come alive brilliantly. From Punch to stand-up comedy, and from Khattar Kaka’s philosophical forays to internet memes, the book offers an extraordinary canvas of humour and its subversive energy in South Asia.’

Sadan Jha, Associate Professor, Centre for Social Studies, Surat, Gujarat, India

‘In complete seriousness, this amazing work examines humour in social and political relations in diverse contexts! What makes the book different and iconic in some senses is the unravelling of laughter and humour in classical frames of analysis. It opens a new mode of understanding social reality: a lens which is often ignored because it is considered trivial or merely funny. By taking it seriously, anthropologists Perera and Pathak have opened up novel avenues for research in our efforts to unpack a troubled world disrupted by political instability, violence, anxiety, trauma, and much else.’

Meenakshi Thapan, Former Professor of Sociology and Director, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, India