Anti-Pakistan sentiment: Jaipur sweet shops replace Pak with Shri

In the wake of the recent Pahalgam false flag operation, a wave of anti-Pakistan sentiment has led to unusual changes in India, most notably in the names of traditional sweets, reported 241NewsHD TV channel on Friday.

In the city of Jaipur, located in the Indian state of Rajasthan, sweet shop owners have begun renaming delicacies that historically included the word "Pak" in their titles, associating it with Pakistan.

According to Indian media reports, well-known sweets such as Moti Pak, Aam Pak, and Gond Pak have been renamed Moti Shri, Aam Shri, and Gond Shri, respectively.

The word Pak, which traditionally denotes "pure" in the context of food, is being removed and replaced with Shri, a Sanskrit term of respect and auspiciousness, in an apparent move to distance these sweets from any linguistic or symbolic association with Pakistan.

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

The general masses claimed this change is a response to rising nationalistic fervor following what they call the "Operation Sindoor."

By modifying the names of these sweets, vendors say they aim to eliminate any reference that could be linked, even remotely, to Pakistan.

While critics have dismissed the move as symbolic overreaction, those supporting it argue it reflects patriotic sentiment and a desire to assert cultural identity.

This latest shift underscores the extent to which regional tensions can influence everyday life, even down to the names of sweets on display in a confectioner’s window.