New York Mayor’s ‘Pakistan’ Faux Pas At India Day Parade

New Delhi: In an embarrassing blunder, New York City Mayor Eric Adams mentioned ‘Pakistan’ instead of India during the 78th Indian Independence Day celebration at the Queens, in the Big Apple.

He made the mistake not once, but thrice, reported PTI.

Addressing the crowd from a spot adorned with Indian flags, Tricolour balloons and banners reading ‘Mayor Adams Celebrates the Indian Community’, Adams said: “We raised the flag earlier this week at Bowling Green… And I think no greater symbol of what you offer to this community than the men and women who are part of the law enforcement community, who are here, the ‘Pakistani’ officers, who are continuing to grow in their numbers and ranks as they continue to show that public safety is the prerequisite to our prosperity.”

“So I thank you for allowing me to come here. I’ve known this community for so long, from little Pakistan in Queens, little Pakistan in Brooklyn, you are a major foundation of our entire city. So let’s continue to celebrate your independence,” Adams continues as he held the Indian Tricolour and the American flag,

When someone from the crowd corrected him, shouting ‘India’, Adams said: “It’s India.”

How did the goof-up happen, especially after Adams had participated in a flag-raising ceremony at in Lower Manhattan on August 15 to mark India’s Independence Day.

Just a day earlier, Adams had addressed another crowd at the same place, to mark Pakistan’s Independence Day. Maybe ‘Pakistan’ had got ingrained in his mind.