Gandhi joke

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Gandhi jokes are a type of joke popular amongst Indians, especially prevalent amongst children in high school. They involve coarse language (often being told in Hindi) and coarse sexual references; usually structured around the fictional exploits of certain well known politicians from the Independence era. The best-known and most revered of these politicians, Gandhi, is usually involved in the punchline.

The jokes are usually based on his stereotypical caricature. Hence the punchline will allude to his glasses, his dhoti, or even his sexual experiments. It is to be remembered that these jokes are not based on any truth.

The widespread presence of these jokes, across all regions and across all social strata, can be attributed to the fact that Gandhi is a personality who is known to all in India and his image is consistent and unchanging.

Hence a joke based say, on his glasses, will be understood by all. Furthermore, since everyone knows that this never happened, this fact makes the joke even funnier.

[edit] Recurring themes

The jokes will often be based on aspects of Gandhi's personality. e.g. Glasses, preference for Khadi.
Queen Victoria or some other British personality may be used to set up the joke. e.g. Queen Victoria's arrival prompts the leaders to bring her gifts.
The jokes often involve a string of politicians one after another, with Gandhi being the last.
Nehru, being Gandhi's right hand man, is often the second to last in the string of politicians and is instrumental in delivering the punchline.