India has always had some pretty unique controversy, the topics each unique than other. This time around the news state the naming of a water supply project after neighbouring country and supposedly arch-rivals Pakistan! What has happened and how much truth is there in the wild rumours? How Pak Sthan Suk became Pakistan?
The project should have been called ‘Pak Sthan Suk,’ but the PHE department instead called it Pakistan. Pak Sthan is the name given to the locality, which means “a place reached by a winding road.” In oral speech, however, it has become ‘Pakistan.’ And somehow, the mistaken name made its way into the department’s official records, resulting in the incident.
People were outraged when the Public Health and Engineering department put a nameplate at a water supply project in Bordalani Burhakuri village in Gogamukh in Dhemaji district that read “Pakistan Suba Water Supply Scheme.” Enraged members of the Bir Lachit Sena applied black paint on the word ‘Pakistan’ in the nameplate after the department allegedly did not act despite public outrage over the preceding few days. However, the department officials didn’t object when they blackened the name and allowed them to cover it with paint. The name Pakistan was welded into the steel gate at the project using steel bars, in addition to the nameplate. Later, staff of the department used hammers to remove it.
The issue was also brought to the attention of department minister Ranjeet Kumar Dass, who promised to take serious measures against those who made mistakes. The term ‘Pakistan’ mentioned in the project’s nameplate, according to Dhemaji (Sadar) Subdivision Officer Nandita Roy Gohain, was merely a spelling error. She explained that the area where the project is located was once known as ‘Pak Sthan Suk,’ which signifies a spot accessed via a winding stretch of road.
However, due to philological distortion, it was renamed Pakistan Suk. Parul Chutia, the village chief of Burhakuri, stated that despite errors in government paperwork, they never used Pakistan Suk in official communication. Pak Sthan Suk is one of the village’s four parts, with 249 families, and the existing project was brought for Pak Sthan Suk’s population. According to official sources, PHE department documents reveal that the name ‘Pakistan‘ has been in use since 1992, and a process has been started to permanently remove the designation.
It’s still a mystery how such a minor misunderstanding turned into a national debate that resulted in threats, scuffles, and verbal abuse. However, it is now clear that the mistake spread like wildfire, and that clarity removes the cloud of doubt. To everyone’s relief, the news clearly states updates about altering names as soon as permitted.
Written by- Jinal S Mehta
Edited by- Riya Shah