Published Paper Details:

Humor and satire have always served as effective literary tools to critique society, expose human follies, and stimulate reflection without resorting to overt confrontation. This paper presents a comparative study of the humorous satire of two eminent writers: Khushwant Singh, an Indian author renowned for his sharp wit and piercing social critique, and Stephen Leacock, a Canadian humorist celebrated for his gentle irony and comic portrayals of everyday life. Although belonging to distinct cultural, social, and historical contexts, both writers employ satire to illuminate social absurdities and human weaknesses. This study explores their shared use of satire as a universal literary form while also identifying the cultural particularities that distinguish them. By situating their works within larger traditions of humor theory--from Aristophanes to Freud and Bergson--this paper argues that Singh and Leacock represent two complementary models of humorous satire: Singh's biting realism rooted in postcolonial India and Leacock's genial humor reflecting early 20th-century North American middle-class society.