A "Pathan joke" is a
derogatory joke that is typically centered around
ethnic stereotypes
An ethnic stereotype, racial stereotype or cultural stereotype involves part of a system of beliefs about typical characteristics of members of a given ethnic group, their status, societal and cultural norms. A national stereotype, or nation ...
about
Pashtun people
Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...
. The word "Pathan" (as opposed to the
endonym
An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...
"Pakhtun") is a
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
word
and it refers to Pashtuns or people who have Pashtun ancestry. Pathan jokes are controversial and are often considered racist, offensive or inappropriate by many in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
and
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
.
.
See also
*
Hindu joke Hindu jokes are a class of ethnic jokes based on the lifestyle of the Hindus and some of the common religious beliefs in Hinduism.
Some of the most common characteristics of these jokes include satire on the priests and ascetics, and jokes on Brahm ...
*
Sardarji joke
Sardarji jokes or Sardar jokes are a class of ethnic jokes based on stereotypes of Sikhs (who use the title of " Sardar", with -ji being an honorific). Although jokes about other ethnic and linguistic communities are found in various regions of ...
References
{{reflist
Pakistani humour
Pashtun culture
Ethnic jokes
Racism in Pakistan
Pashtun society
Desi culture