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New York City Mayor Eric Adams made a blunder during the 78th Indian Independence Day celebration in Queens, where he mistakenly referred to 'India' as 'Pakistan', not once but thrice. The day before, Adams had spoken at a flag-raising ceremony at the same venue for Pakistan's Independence Day.
The incident occurred on Saturday at the Queens 9th India Day Parade. Adams addressed the crowd from a stage adorned with Indian flags, tricolour balloons, and banners reading "Mayor Adams Celebrates the Indian Community."
Holding both the Indian tricolour and the American flag, Adam was surrounded by attendees waving Indian flags and dressed in tricolour-themed attire.
During his speech, Adams said Pakistan a few times. He meant India.
"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," Adams stated, as reported by the news agency PTI.
He made this mistake a few times.
He continued, "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."
Finally, someone from the crowd corrected him, shouting, "India", "It’s India".
The mistake was hard to ignore as Adams had participated in a flag-raising ceremony at Bowling Green Park in Lower Manhattan on August 15 to mark India’s Independence Day. But how did it happen? The goof up might have to do with how he addressed another crowd, a day before at the same place for Pakistan’s Independence Day.
