Key points
- The move followed Pakistan’s military success, with symbolic retaliation spilling into mithai menus.
- Linguists and netizens pointed out that “Pak” refers to cooking in Sanskrit and Kannada.
- The rebranding triggered a social media storm, with many mocking it as cultural ignorance.
ISLAMABAD: In a move that reeks more of paranoia than patriotism, India’s Pakistan-phobia has reached such sugary extremes that even traditional sweets haven’t been spared.
In Jaipur, desserts like Moti Pak, Mysore Pak, Aam Pak, and Gond Pak have been hastily renamed Moti Shri and Mysore Shri, as if scrubbing the word Pak (a shorthand for Pakistan) mithai menus could somehow rewrite geopolitics.
What was meant to be a show of nationalist zeal has instead melted into mockery, with the bizarre gesture drawing laughter and backlash from Indians themselves, many of whom see it as yet another absurd chapter in the Modi government’s ever-deepening obsession with Pakistan.
The move comes in the wake of Pakistan’s recent military operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos, which delivered a humiliating blow to Indian defence systems.
This symbolic defeat appears to have spilt from the battlefield to the sweet counters, where a perceived linguistic link to Pakistan, despite being etymologically incorrect, has now prompted a patriotic rebranding of sugar-coated confections.
The shop in question, Tyohaar Sweets, claimed the change was driven by a desire to inspire “national pride.”
Owner Anjali Jain stated, “Many customers were uncomfortable with the word ‘Pak’ due to recent tensions. We wanted our sweets to reflect patriotic sentiment.”
The shop even renamed its signature gold and silver sweets Swarn Shri and Chandi Shri.
But online, Indians were not buying the sugary symbolism. “The word ‘Pak’ in these sweets comes from Kannada and Sanskrit, not Pakistan,” wrote Indian linguist Abhishek Avtans, who explained that Pak refers to cooking or ripening—Pakva in Sanskrit, Paak in Kannada.
Social media erupted with satire and memes, calling the move “WhatsApp University logic” and lamenting the growing cultural ignorance in public discourse.
Came across this. What’s your take on this?#MysorePak pic.twitter.com/UbkRr1ruif
— Tathvam-asi (@ssaratht) May 15, 2025
“This country has reached the peak of absurdity. Next, they’ll rename Paaka Shastra because it sounds like ‘Pak scriptures’,” quipped one user on X (formerly Twitter).
Another noted, “Every day, the collective IQ of this country goes down with stories like these.”
This is not the first time food has been caught in the crossfire of political tensions.
Karachi Bakery, an Indian chain named after the Pakistani city, faced a similar backlash in Telangana last year, with protesters demanding a name change despite its Indian roots.
Another Indian social media user with the name Modern Gyani @GayaniBaba4 says: “Desh jahalat ki seema per phounch chuka hey, ab desh ko sirf upper wala he baccha sakta hey, desh ki janta se to koi umeed nehi- means,” meaning that the country has reached the limit of ignorance; now only God can save the country, there is no hope from countrymen.
जयपुर शहर की मिठाइयों के नाम से दूकानदारों ने पाक शब्द हटाया. ‘मोती पाक' बना अब ‘मोती श्री. जहां पहले दुकानों पर ‘मोती पाक’, ‘आम पाक’, ‘गोंद पाक’, ‘मैसूर पाक’ जैसे नाम लिखे होते थे, वहीं अब कई शॉप्स में बदलाव किया जा रहा है. ‘मोती श्री’, ‘आम श्री’, ‘गोंद श्री’, ‘मैसूर श्री’ नाम… pic.twitter.com/Q1Vuk5h9mY
— NDTV India (@ndtvindia) May 21, 2025
In a nation where culinary traditions have always bridged divides, the politicisation of mithai has now become a storm in a teacup, a symbolic battleground where even gulab jamun may someday need a passport, commented a social media user.
