Diljit Dosanjh's 'Panjab' spelling error triggers debate; Trump's top lawyer Harmeet Dhillon weighs in
Harmeet K. Dhillon--a Chandigarh-born lawyer--has entered the debate of 'Punjab v/s Panjab' days after Diljit Dosanjh was brutally roasted online for using alternative spelling of the state.
Dhillon, who was recently nominated by President-elect Donald Trump as the Assistant Attorney General in his new administration, in a post on X, wrote, "Pnjab"
Pnjab
— Harmeet K. Dhillon (@pnjaban) December 16, 2024
Diljit Dosanjh had referred to the state of Punjab as "PANJAB" in an announcement for his upcoming tour in Chandigarh.
Tomorrow CHANDIGARH PANJAB 🇮🇳
Dhool Kitni Bhi Uchi Chali Jaye Kabhi Aasman Ko Ganda Nhi Kar Sakti 😎https://t.co/NzoLX6pV7D pic.twitter.com/lEnnPcQGIq
— DILJIT DOSANJH (@diljitdosanjh) December 13, 2024
After netizens expressed outrage over the alternative spelling of the state, the singer issued a clarification criticising the undue conspiracy people were getting into.
"If I mention Punjabi with the Indian flag in a tweet then there is a conspiracy, if I write Punjab as Panjab then it is considered a controversy. Whether you write Punjab as Panjab it will still remain Punjab. Panja-Aaab-5 Rivers. Those who are using the White man's language-English to generate a controversy -Congratulations. Keep going, how many times do I have to prove that we love India...do something new or is this the only task you have been assigned?"
ਪੰਜਾਬ 🇮🇳
Kisi ek Tweet Mai Agar ਪੰਜਾਬ ke Saath 🇮🇳 Flag Mention Reh Gaya Toh Conspiracy
BENGALURU ke Tweet Mai bhi Ek Jagha Reh Gaya Thaa Mention Karna..
Agar ਪੰਜਾਬ Ko PANJAB Likha toh Conspiracy
PANJAB Ko Chaye PUNJAB likho..
ਪੰਜਾਬ ਪੰਜਾਬ Hee Rehna 😇
Panj Aab - 5 Rivers… pic.twitter.com/a1U7q8DW5j
— DILJIT DOSANJH (@diljitdosanjh) December 16, 2024
As per the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the earliest known use of the noun Punjab is in the 1830s with OED's earliest evidence for Punjab is from 1833, in Journal of Royal Geographical Society.
As per the official website of the Government of Punjab, the first known documentation of the word 'Punjab' is in the writings of Ibn Batuta, who visited the region in the fourteenth century. The term came into wider use in the second half of the sixteenth century, and was used in the book Tarikh-e-Sher Shah Suri (1580) in Persian.
"The name Punjab is made of two words Punj (Five) + Aab (Water) i.e. land of five rivers. These five rivers of Punjab are Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, Chenab, and Jhelum. Only Sutlej, Ravi and Beas rivers flow in today's Punjab. The other two rivers are now in the state of Punjab, situated in Pakistan", the website mentioned.
The Indian State of Punjab was created in 1947, when the partition of India split the former Raj province of Punjab between India and Pakistan, the website noted.
Hence, the usage of the word 'Panjab' has often been associated with the entire region as one state before the partition of India and Pakistan.
In this background, the post by Dhillon becomes significant as she would take up the post as the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the US Department of Justice under the upcoming Trump administration.
The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice plays a significant role in major civil rights issues of the US and also has prominence in key international issues as it is involved directly in addressing issues such as justice for victims of overseas terrorism, organised crime and cyber security amongst others.
With ANI inputs
