‘Boy oh boy’
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ONE is not too sure about other cultures, but in the South Asian context, the only time a man likes being referred to as a boy is when the bridesmaids announce the arrival of the groom’s party at the bride’s home as ‘larkey walley aa gaey’. On all other occasions, even spindly little lads prefer to refer to themselves as men.
The glee and reckless abandon with which some grown men present themselves as boys, albeit with the prefix ‘wonder’ attached, is sadder than it is silly. No prize for guessing who could have messed up a well-known term such as ‘boy wonder’, meaning an extraordinarily talented lad. Only the boys themselves could better Merriam-Webster’s language in looking for the country’s future prime minister, or, is it a boy king, that’s been kept in mind?
I once happened to visit the ancestral home of a family who, at one time, held the largest agricultural estate this side of our eastern border; a foreign guest present there later asked me how come everyone in the household staff was named the same? It took me a while to figure out that he was referring to the call made all too often in these households, ie, ‘chora’ meaning ‘boy’ to refer to anyone ranging from a minor used as a gofer to an elderly cook whose father and perhaps grandfather was also called a chora. The guest, however, was quick on the uptake as his countrymen shared the shameful past of referring to house help and farmhands as ‘boy’, even long after slavery was abolished in the US.
The seemingly innocent-sounding term has a sinister psychological and historical background. Used widely in America and South Africa, on plantations and in factories alike, it was the white man’s tool for dehumanising and infantilising the black population. By calling someone ‘boy’, they are told, nay reminded, that they cannot be treated as equals, and that they would perpetually remain dependent and inferior to white men and women.
The term has a sinister historical background.
According to the Harvard Law and Policy Review, in 2011, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals acknowledged that a supervisor’s use of the term ‘boy’ to refer to black employees was sufficient evidence of racism. Earlier, a three-judge bench had not found the term’s use to be evidence of discrimination, and it took a reprimand from the Supreme Court to reverse that verdict.
This cruel practice, unfortunately, is entrenched in our parts of the world as well; the rural term ‘chora’ is replaced by ‘beta’ (son), another condescending term in urban settings. It is sickening to hear people address grown men, sometimes elderly, working in the service industry as beta.
It is believed that in England from the 15th to the 17th centuries, because princes could not be disciplined by their tutors as ordinary pupils were, a young companion was assigned to study alongside them and be punished instead of the prince, who would infer the intended lesson by feeling his companion’s pain. The unfortunate, learning sidekick was called a whipping boy. Although Barnaby Fitzpatrick and William Murray are named as whipping boys of King Edward VI and King Charles I, respectively, historians believe these accounts are fables, like the one in Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper.
Have no doubt that the wonder boy theory is floated among the old foxes of the Pakistani political class with a purpose. The purposes are actually multiple; ie, have all wannabe suitors vie for the attention of the mistress called power, and listen to what the powerbrokers want them to do. They could have easily set the media to spread the word about their search for a ‘Superman’, but they know it all too well that anyone with such a title would soon become too big for his britches and not only start wearing underpants over them but also believing he could fly. To keep the ambition in check and as a constant reminder of his perpetual subservience, they search for a ‘wonder boy’.
If and when the wonder boy is found and anointed, it would be interesting to see how he would reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio, increase direct tax-to-GDP percentage, enrol 26 million-plus out-of-school children in formal and informal schools, ensure that the 57m or so fortunate to be enrolled actually learn something, increase the social sectors’ share in the national budget, manage population, eradicate polio, address climate change, reduce the trust deficit between the state and the citizens, improve relations and trade with neighbours, and put the militancy genie back in the bottle while keeping all his local and foreign patrons happy. The metamorphosis from wonder boy to whipping boy will be swift and incredibly painful, meant for the citizens’ vicarious learning. Amidst this collective, sinking feeling, let us all look for a lifebuoy.
The writer is a poet. His latest publication is a collection of satire essays titled Rindana.
Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2026
