‘Akom’ for Assam? CJP’s name mix-up follows map gaffe

The Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) first regional volunteers’ meeting in Guwahati has drawn attention to two separate references to Assam, one involving a distorted map of the state displayed at the event and another involving the spelling of Assam in a social media post by CJP co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka.

During an interaction with the CJP panel at the event, an India Today NE journalist pointed out that the map of Assam displayed on the backdrop did not accurately depict the state’s boundaries.

The panel, which included NCP spokesperson Anish Gawande, members of the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) and other participants, did not offer an explanation for the inaccurate depiction when the discrepancy was pointed out.

The map issue comes as the CJP seeks to expand its political activities in Assam and the Northeast. The party had organised its first regional volunteers’ meeting in Guwahati on Sunday, although the event was disrupted after Assam Police detained several CJP leaders and volunteers ahead of the gathering.

CJP co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka and several party functionaries were later released. Following his release, Ranka alleged that the police detention was illegal and said the team had asked the police to drop them back at the location from where they were picked up.

“The illegal detention by Assam Police has finally ended. We have asked Police to go and drop us from where we were picked up illegally in the first place,” Ranka said in a post on X.

He added that he would address the media at Chaudhary Tila, opposite the Assam Secretariat, and ended the post with the phrase: “Jai Ai Akom!”

That phrase itself has raised questions over the CJP's use of Assam's name.

In Assamese, the state is commonly referred to as “Asom” (অসম), while “Assam” is the standard English form. “Akom” is not the standard spelling of the state's name in either form.

The two incidents, first an inaccurate map displayed at a political event and the unusual spelling used in Ranka’s post, have therefore drawn attention, particularly as the CJP attempts to establish a political presence in Assam.

The CJP's Guwahati meeting had already became a headline after police detained Ranka and several other party leaders and volunteers before the scheduled gathering. 

CJP leaders alleged that the police action was intended to prevent them from holding the meeting, while the circumstances surrounding the police action have become part of the wider political dispute.