“Pulkistan” was a joke born from a BJP spokesperson’s attempted rendition of Vande Mataram during a Zee Salaam television debate on October 28, 2017. After Mufti Ejaz Arshad Qasmi challenged Navin Kumar Singh to sing the song, Singh struggled with the lyrics while reading from his phone. Viewers heard one phrase as “Pulkistan,” and the hashtag and memes spread across social media.
What happened on the Zee Salaam debate?
Contemporaneous reports place the exchange on October 28, 2017, during a Zee Salaam debate about Vande Mataram and patriotism. Singh, a BJP spokesperson, was discussing the song with Mufti Ejaz Arshad Qasmi, whom the reports identified as a member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board.
Scroll reported that Qasmi challenged Singh to sing. Singh initially hesitated, then tried to follow the lyrics on his phone as he sang. Business Standard also described Singh attempting the song while reading from his phone and struggling with it. Scroll’s account and Business Standard’s report document the sequence; they are reports of the broadcast, not a substitute for a verified transcript.
Why did people hear “Pulkistan”?
Scroll identified the difficult phrase as “shubhrajyotsnaa pulkitayaaminiim” and reported that Singh’s rendition of “pulkitayaaminiim” sounded like “Pulkistan.” That wording reflects Scroll’s description of how the clip sounded; it should not be treated as a transcript verified against the original broadcast.
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The resulting joke turned the misheard word into the name of an imaginary country. By late night on October 31, Scroll reported that #Pulkistan was one of Twitter’s top trends. The article gave no numerical rank or audience count, so the trend’s reach is best described in those qualitative terms. Business Standard likewise reported that the clip circulated on social media and that users posted about it with the hashtag.
What did the Pulkistan memes make fun of?
Many posts extended the sound-alike into a fictional country, assigning it imagined leaders, officials, and other features. The joke also became a vehicle for broader political satire: Scroll noted memes targeting public figures and references to demonetisation. The hashtag was therefore more than a replay of a stumble; users built a running political gag around the word they thought they heard.
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The Week separately attributed the response “Vande Mataram should be sung properly” to Bizay Sonkar Shastri, identified in its report as a BJP national spokesperson. The Week’s report framed that comment as the party response to Singh’s goof-up.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What was the debate about?
The exchange took place amid an argument about patriotism and whether Vande Mataram should be sung. Scroll noted that some Muslims have objected to singing the song on religious grounds, including its depiction of India as a motherland. That is context for the debate, not a position shared by all Muslims; the meme itself focused on Singh’s challenged performance and the apparent mispronunciation.
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