Bollywood actress of the yesteryears, Hema Malini finally apologized to the people of Assam for her blunder in acknowledging Bihu as a festival of Bihar. In a post on Twitter on Friday, a day after her misinformed greeting, Hema Malini said that it was a “mistake” and she was “sorry” for it.
The major debacle came as Assam etched its name in the history books with a record Bihu performance, in a bid to establish the Assamese culture on the world stage. And the blunder on her part was unexpected considering that she has visited Assam only last year as a chief guest at Nalbari Raas celebrations.
Hema Malini had posted on her social media handles, “It is the Harvest season now. Tamizh Puthandu (New year), Baisakhi (Punjab), Bihu (Bihar) and Pohela Baisakh or Naba Barsha (Bengal) are some of the festivals celebrated. Wish you all a wonderful festival month,” where she had mentioned that Bihu is a festival of Bihar.
This blunder did not go unnoticed as netizens called her out for it and pointed out that Bihu is in fact a festival celebrated in Assam. They criticized the actress for her lack of knowledge about the states and their festivals, despite being a public figure and an elected representative.
While many fans came to her defense, others questioned her commitment towards understanding the culture and traditions of the country. It may be noted that Hema Malini is currently serving as the member of Lok Sabha representing Mathura constituency since 2014 and the member of Rajya Sabha from Karnataka from 2011 to 2012 and by nominated from 2003 to 2009 as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
It may be noted that Hema Malini was not the only one to have made the blunder with the Indian embassy in Japan's official Twitter handle also making the same mistake.
The embassy on its official twitter handle wrote, "Embassy of India, Tokyo extends greetings to all on the occasion of Bihar Bihu."
However, they have also made the necessary corrections as of now.
