Culture Ministry apologises after ‘Bihuna’ misspelling triggers row in Assam

A quiz post by the Union Ministry of Culture sparked controversy in Assam after it misspelled two of the state’s iconic traditions — Husori and Bihu — as “Husari” and “Bihuna” on its official Facebook page.

The post, which hinted at a tea-producing state and asked, “Husari and Bihuna are traditional folk dance forms of which state?”, drew sharp reactions from netizens who called the error disrespectful and misleading. Many urged the Ministry to correct the spellings, stating that “Bihuna” is not a recognised term in Assamese culture.

Noted filmmaker Utpal Borpujari criticised the lapse, saying government social media handlers must verify content before posting, as such mistakes create unnecessary controversy and spread misinformation.

Husori is a traditional Bohag Bihu performance where troupes visit households singing and blessing families, while Bihu celebrated as Rongali, Kongali and Bhogali is central to Assam’s cultural identity.
Following the backlash, the Ministry issued an apology stating:

“We sincerely apologise for the error in our earlier post where ‘Bihunas’ was mistakenly written as ‘Bihuna.’ We deeply regret the mistake. We hold India’s rich cultural traditions in the highest respect. The post has been removed, and we are taking greater care to ensure such errors do not occur in the future.”

The episode has reignited conversations around cultural sensitivity and accurate representation of regional traditions