Why Malaysian Indians hate the word “Keling”?
Keling is a legendary word for us, the Malaysian Indians. You may ask the reason on why I said so. Well, the word is filled with so much of sarcasm in such a way that Indians nowadays won’t even know even a tiny little history about that word but instead, they would know it as a ‘derogatory’ word. Or an ‘offensive’ word some might say.
How it came to be offensive? Why we should be offended about it?
Doing an online research about the word made me to dig a lot of articles which dates back to the Kalinga story and all those History craps. I am not that interested in talking about histories nor am I a geek at it, but from what I could perceive, the word “Keling” was used to refer to our ancestors who came all the way long from India to Malaysia those days.
From being a ‘reference’ word those days to becoming a ‘derogatory’ word nowadays. How on earth did that happened? Nearly most of the Malaysians would know about this “Keling” word and how offensive it could be when it is being uttered to the Indians. But, the moment one tourist approaches an Indian kid and asks him why he is getting offended with the word, then we could expect the kid to start blabbering!
My question is, is there a need for us to be offended with this infamous “Keling” word? As you all may know, natans in schools love to utter this word to the Indian students, with “Puk*mak ko keling!” being one of the most famous stupid reason to catalyse a fight between those natans and Indians. And the reason? Definitely the Indians would say that they became ‘angry’ due to the word “Keling” but at that moment, the word “Puk*mak” won’t be visible to them! I would be much glad if the reason given was ”Puk*mak” since it is a generalised term regardless of race. Don’t you guys think that the more we are being sensitive, the more the ‘exclusiveness’ of the “Keling” word would be there and the more the Indians would get offended? Anyway, last but not least:
1) Should we get desensitized of that word?
2) Would sensitivity be reduced if Indians started to utter the word “Keling” amongst each other, so that the “exclusiveness” of the word won’t longer be exclusive?
*If any of you have any reason saying that we should get offended with that word, do enlighten me with it!
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42 Responses for "Why Malaysian Indians hate the word “Keling”?"
hai makkez:
it is already quite some time , i dint hear this word .
But when im secondry school , every day i can’t miss from hearing this word.
i think , nowadays this word’s effect not offensive as last time among our youngsters .
i guess keling to an indian is like what niggers are to an african american. but like u said, i dont see how we’d have to be offended for being called kelings..
it’s just another word… sooner or later, we’ll get desensitized… it’s a mystery when some people do not know the exact origin and root of that word, but tend to get all fired up without a second’s thought. Kinda stupid, eh?
Haha.. Bro, I know what I am going to say here might stir anger from some people and even would be labelled as stupid. But the thing is, me and mah frens in college(Indians, obviously) had already started to call each other “keling”. It is used normally among ourselves in a sarcastic-cum-trying-to-crack-a-joke tome.
eg;
“Jangan buat perangai keling lah joe!”
(And then the other guy will just laugh and walk away; it is basically like the nigger thing-it is fine if a black guy calls another nigger, problem is only when the whites do it)
I don’t know. I have accepted the word.
Don’t be sensitive like a keling, joe.
after reading thevan’s comment.. it made me to think..
for african americans they greet each other:
“wassup nigga”…imagine we Indians start doing dat “wassup keling” or “keling, inthe sani kelemeh thanni poduvoma”
and local artist starts writing songs like snoop dogg…
english ” me walking down the lane, greeeting mah niggaz along tha way.. etc etc”
tamil ” kootathileh keling aiya, yaare inge theduthe, kaige satthom ketkayileh manam keling solethe keling solethe ”
Hidup Kelingans!
wasup kelings
as far as I know, the keling word derived from our ancestors as their were wearing lots of jewels and when they walk the jewels cause the clinking sounds and that’s the how the ‘keling’ word came from. That’s what my History teacher told me…
hmmm…why isnt my reply appearing, tried so many times edy…..
there are few theories as to wht Keling stands for:
1. As you guys should know, India was known as Kalinga a very very long time ago. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalinga_(India)
2. Some Indians were brought here as slaves, being a slave, you are usually chained, the noise “kling-kling” from the chains could have given birth to wht i believe a word Indians now find derogatory.
In fact whn ‘natans’ use Keling, they are usually referring to the mamaks, and not Hindu-Indians. Proof of this is the Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling in Penang, where Indian muslims dominate the area.
I sincerely do not know why Malays and chinese like to fit in such a word in their insults, but i think when u get insulted, and someone utters a word like Keling in the insult, it sort of fires things up. Guess thts why Indians hate being called Keling.
As for me, i do get a little worked up whn i hear people use the word, because if they wanted to direct an insult to me and my community, they could refer to us as Indians, and not a word which has vague origins and they themselves do not understand. Just like the incident in parliament whn the natan MP said “Okkarenge”, he didnt know how to pronounce it properly but said it anyway, and tht angered the Indians present whom although knew wht the MP actually meant but decided to get angry on the meaning of wht the word sounded like.
my kelantanis friends are very use to this keling word… and now i pun terikut2 gak. hehehhe…
“”Would sensitivity be reduced if Indians started to utter the word “Keling” amongst each other, so that the “exclusiveness” of the word won’t longer be exclusive?”"
yeahhh,,,, tc keling.
Keling means “Ghost”.How can you people say something different?.
This word is considered as “Dictionary” in Cinapek mind.I usually will hear this from those low class “apeks” who will talk like something in the Communist era.You see we are not ex-communist before.Indians had good reputation back in 60-70’s.We don’t do “kongsi gelap” or whatsoever.Time has changed & now we are underestimated with this callsign.
So in return if they tryin to point this word to me i would simply call them either 1)Sadhayan (sae~dha~yann),2)TengKeling or 3)Komunis.Then they will keep quiet.
Salak-kui.
yea its true, nowdays guy start to use keling work to another indian n take it as joke or make it as joke.
It started off innocent enough, there’s even a famous mosque called Masjid Kapitan Keling in penang, which is named after a Kapitan Kader Mohideen, the leader of the tamils back then. Up till the 60s and 70s it was accepted but now has evolved into a derogatory term. The word nigger itself was common in use till recently, but had evolved into an insulting racist term. It’s just how some words evolve, so it has to be accepted as derogatory now.
We Indians get worked up by the name “Keling”, but we don’t fail to call names such as “Natans” or “Sadaiyans”.
@ Naturetech
In what language “keling” means ghost ?
Just wanted to share an experience with my fellow indians, I am studying in Indonesia, and during one of my group discussion(which included a few malaysians, indonesians and me,the only indian) my lecturer who was present to monitor the discussion start asking bout our origin. Now, this lecturer was at least 65 years old, an indonesian, and the moment he come to ask about my origin, he uttered ” kamu keturunan keling kan?” I felt so angry and ashamed, but i did not react, instead i thought about it, this lecturer is an indonesian and they refer to indians using many terms in indonesia (e.g Bombay, Keling, India) and he actually did not mean to hurt my feelings by saying the K word, I smiled and just nodded. If there was one lesson i learnt that day, it was that people use different terms to refer to a particular clan of people, and we indians should not be offended and act foolishly. *but for p**imak, we can act as foolish as we want, but not for the K word,lol* We indians are civilised people and anger is just gonna hurt that good image of us, so think before you act my fellow indian buddies. Valgha Indians!
aah why get worked up? just as how we have names for them, they have for us. not saying im accepting it, neither will they, dont u think so?.
…well, belacanz will alwayz b belacanz. pandiz will alwayz b pandiz. and indianz will alwayz b indianz :>! and im perfectly fine with that.
we all hav names for each n everyone behind each other’s back, so keling shudnt be an issue at all. =)
he calls u keling,u call him somethin. u both get offended and da argument goes on leading no where at all.. so why fret.
..keling? slave? black ass? uh ya wat else do u hav.. i’ve got some for u too!. we all do. i bet da belacanz n pandiz hav one blog on diz too :P.
but oh well, am still proud dat we dont go knockin on anyone’s door tryin or beggin to convert anyone..or even stop anyone from marryin witout converting…or put up a shit face wit all rules n regulations in front and prayin 5times a day n still do shit at da end of da day?…or we don go breakin anyone’s mosque or church?… hmmmmm…
well, if we r keling den ya proud to b one! *bats eyelashes*
..proud indian girl i am..and if u cant take that. visit kalinga baby! :)!
1) Uttering keling among each other, within Indians.
2) Indian rappers should use the word “Keling” in their lyrics.
Yeah, I agree with the above two! Haha.
@the truth - Most of your comments would be marked as “SPAM” and would be held for moderation until I approved it manually. This is due to your ’suspicious’ looking email. Sometimes, too many external links in a comment could even lead to one’s comment being marked as “SPAM”.
@Naturetech - Does “keling” really refers to a ghost?
@Murthi - Yes brother, but ironically, when we call them by those names, they would be cool as hell.
@Kash Balboa - Thanks for sharing your experience brother.
@indiaponnu - Hello keling ponnu.. =)
To all the kelings out there, have a nice day!
@Makkez
haha suspicious looking email…..thn why only for selected topics, though ive experienced this irritating delay before, but most of the time its fine?
@Makkez@Murthi -” Yes brother, but ironically, when we call them by those names, they would be cool as hell. ”
Coz they are bloody unaware tht we are talking abt thm!
The best part is, the ‘pandis’(girls) usually like to use manja names referring to themselves, like ‘piggy’, as u can see this very often in friendster and blogs,plus posing by pulling up their noses and its fucking hillarious.
@the truth - Well, sometimes, it happens for long comments as well. I myself am not sure on how the algorithm of “Akismet” works, which happens to be the plugin that differentiates between comments and spams. But one thing for sure, you might wanna consider putting a real-looking email instead.
Back to our topic, well, that’s the difference in it. They call us kelings, we get angry. We call them “natans” or “sadaiyans”, they would ask us back “what the hell is that?”, since those are names that we use to refer them, and not to ridicule them. (ATTN: Murthi)
To Murthi & others,
If they call you & me Keling,you think the komunis origin are welcoming us with good reputation.Go & search the word “Keling” in wiki & if you could see carefully…here…i put it for you..
“The phrase keling kwai which means “Indian Ghost/Devil/Barbarian”
The word “kwai” is refered as “Kui” now which means “Ekor” in Bahasa.If you love to hear this word from your friends & etc then it’s your problem.Why don’t you try to call a Chinese with “Pengkui” & you will know “their reaction”.Or even “Sadhayan”..
I have heard some komunis trying to extend their racism with calling “Uuh ohh” means “black” at me although i’m fair skinned.But i’m not suprised with that as everybody knows that this cinapeks are red just like their Babi Merah.Bt those motherfuc”ke”*S think they are white men/woman.Well…i have to say “Sorry Commun’s better luck next time..”.It won’t work even if they have to drink white men’s Pee.
Chinese are colour blind.They are very blind until they can’t compare between brown & black especially in Malaysia & Singapore.That’s why they can’t mix with other people & always says “geli geli”.And that’s what made them look cheap around the world.
Cina tarak tipu dia bukan Cina - A definition from an old Chinaman married to an Indian lady when i was small.
@ Naturetech.
First, I am not saying that I like anyone to call me Keling or any other names in the first place. All I am trying to say if we don’t like others to call us names, then we should also refrain ourself from calling others names.
And for your information ‘kwai’ or ‘kui’ does not refer to ekor in BM, it means ghost. get your facts right first by checking with your Chinese friends (if you have any).
@ Makkez
Whatever names we use to refer to others instead of their names are meant to ridicule them unless they themselves agree to the name calling (thats how I define it, might not be correct).
savadi topic keling..
Me, Keling paling last replying to this topic.
Some of my Indian friends calls me Keling, I actually don’t mind.
But when it comes to Natans some how I feel irritated. Psychology poleh.
Oww ic…
Well thnx for your info Murthi.I don’t knw whether you are “50/50″ or don’t have Chinese friends or they are too “nice”.Or maybe you are as white as communist i guess.I belive somehow you enjoy being called as “Kelinga Kui”.You also have to aware that nowadays those white pigs already realise that calling “kelinga”might alert Indian & so they change it to “Wu jing” which the same that is ghost.I don’t know from which “Chinese” you learned that word from maybe Taiwan i guess.. :lol:.Psst..your girlfriend is a Chinese ahh?.
I don’t know the actual word “Keling” or “Kalinga” were used to indicate our point of origin.But the word “Kalinga” itself were used to represent 5? headed snake that retaliate in sea until were tamed by Lord Vishnu.Or maybe it’s an Administration of Emperor Kalinga.
I must say that Chinese are a species which hardly mix with other species.People who came from outside China will be called with all kind of ugly names.Ayaaa…you no need go to China 1..just go to kedai apek Ah Chai & you can see they will laugh synchronously & you will be wondering.Why they are laughing.?Because they are condemning you.
@Naturetech
I have no intention of arguing with you on this. It’s your right to say whatever you want. I have many Indian, Malay and Chinese friends. I believe in living harmoniously without retaliating to these type of name calling.
I have been to many Chinese or Indian restaurants. I have never noticed any incidences mentioned by you. Maybe I am not as sensitive as you or maybe because I do not resort to calling them “piggy’s, sadayans, communist or whatever, law of “karma” maybe. But at the same time, I have also came across Indians who uses all kind of names against others to in a way to ridicule them.
I believe in refraining from referring other races with names to ridicule them and at the same time correct them if they call me by whatever name except Murthi
@ durai, yea same here…u try calling a nigga being a non-nigga and see, lolz, watch out for the nigga fist man…
well guys,,,i thk the word “KELING” is more irratted for me ,,specially if malay said the word.The word “Keling ” arrive from penang,the use “Keling” word to mamak, not to indian,pls do sum research and u will find out the fact.Pls dont use keling word among indian,and sum commentar said put the word in lyric.think before write sumthing. bye
I once read a book titled ‘History of Malaya’ by Richard Olof Windstedt (a British researcher) detailing life in Malaysia in the pre-independence days for British traders. He paid some attention to the word ‘Keling’.
The word was derived from a fundamental understanding by older traders that Indians came from the Kalinga Empire of India. There was no such thing as ‘India’ or ‘Indian’ back then so dark skinned men from the West were referred to as ‘Kaling’ or ‘Keling’; derived from the name of the Empire that they are said to represent.
Now in the modern times, most people are unaware of the history behind the word and I’ve heard absurd explanations on its history, from ‘the sound Indian women’s anklets make’ to ‘the sound the chains of Indian slaves made’. Truth is, ‘Keling’ is merely an out-of-date reference for Indians by unenlightened Malaysians.
Should Indians feel hurt? Not at all! Why should Indians be hurt because of someone else’s ignorance? Indians should be humble and educate a person who has used such a word, that an entire nation (India) has been established since the Kalinga Empire feudal days 2000 years ago. Why be dissuaded or let your emotions run amok because of a ‘word’?
Words should never be penalised. There are NO racist words, only racist people. It is the racist you have to be bothered about, not the word. It is the purpose, the thought and the situation that Indians must be concerned about, not the word. The word is completely harmless. I don’t get offended when someone calls me a ‘Keling’ because I know it’s pointless and a waste of time and effort.
Racists really wield power over you if they can use a word and get you to react. But just ignore it and dismiss it as a person’s ignorance and you’ll find yourself being liberated from the stereotype perpetuated on you.
Would sensitivity be reduced if Indians started to utter the word “Keling” amongst each other, so that the “exclusiveness” of the word won’t longer be exclusive?
i certainly believe tht it will no longer be exclusive..
example: the word FUCK… its known to be harsh.. tough its commonly usd by many teenager’z nowadayz.. even me n ma hommies call each other by it and mean nutin of it…
ex:fucka wat da heck u up 2? it has basically become neutral n is quite a common indication used.in some cases it mite act create a greater bond btw one human to another”bonding”..
well i duno hw u guyz out there consider the fact of it bt this is hw me n mua hommies bring it d0wn. v need to curse to stay united.. wakakaka.. mite neva know one day our fellow indians mite be adressin each other in the term Keling as well n b completely neutral abt it…nyek nyek nyek…no hard feelings =)
Hi guys,
First off, I’m not an Indian. I’m a Malay of Kelantanese origin, born in Pahang, and grew up in many parts of Malaysia — Pahang, Kelantan, Penang, and now in KL.
Keling word — as of my childhood days, was never meant to us as to make anyone offended by it. It was part of Kelate slang to refer to Indians, which I had to reluctantly let go because I happen to be informed that Malaysians of Indian origin would feel offended by the use of the word ‘Keling’. The terms, ‘Keling mabuk todi’, or other derogatory examples, was not meant to put insults to the word ‘Keling’, but I guess it was merely part of history of early settlers of Indian origin, living in estates, and was addicted to drinking. If the habit of drinking befell on Malays, I think the term would be ‘Melayu mabuk todi’ instead. No insult was intended. Sorry.
The term ‘Keling’ was used non-offensively, even back in the writing of Sejarah Melayu by Tun Sri Lanang, and Hikayat Hang Tuah. It was an old term, which was used even before the British brought in people from India to work in rubber estates as slaves.
People like me, would try to refrain to use terms that would offend others — and I think younger generations, with increased respect of racial harmony would do the same. If the term ‘Baba Nyonya’ is considered offensive, we would stop using that too. If the term ‘Apek’ is offensive. We would delete that from our vocabulary as well.
What would we lose — in Malaysia? Hmm.. Probably a part of history.
Would that be an honour?
Hi,
I am an indian living in the state of orissa.Orissa is situated in the eastern part of india.
I think u all must be known that the old name of this state was kalinga and was very much prosperous and rich in businesses mostly in java,sumatra,bali and malay.when this kalinga people went there for businesses they became the native by adopting their local culture or tradition and mixing their with own tradition created a new community there gradually and these people are known as in your pronounciation keling.
hi,
so malaysians of indian orgin should be proud of the word keling ,because of lkalinga war buddhism spread across the world ,you all must know it.
Kalinga people were very prousporous in indian subconinent .YOu shuld be proud of being a kalinga putra.
If you malays dont know perfect history then google is there and know that
Look south indians dont have any cultural simmilarity with us(Orissa,kalinga).there culture is totally different from us.thats why south indians (tamils,telugu,kannada,kerala)dont relate themselves with kaling.thats why they become angry of this word.
if u call indians of southern origin , keling they must angry because they know kalinga people are different from us and keling people were native here more than 2000 years ago where as south indians are not so old to be the native here.
long live kalinga and long live its history
Okay, lets say Keling is not such a bad word. It’s just us, Indian who think of it that way. So, lets say, others regard us as Keling. We r completely fine with it.
But then, what makes me curious is that why they use phrases like ‘You cakap macam kelinglah’ or ‘You tak faham bahasa ke? Nak saya cakap bahasa keling?’ or ‘You ni macam kelinglah’. Whenever something gets wrong or out of hand, they make a simile out of the word ‘keling’, to regard the wrong-doer. So, Indians are the ones who do all the wrong things?
What are they trying to say by that? I mean, why in the world do they need to use that particular phrase? If the word, ‘keling’ is not meant in an offensive way, why do they have to use it in an offensive way? Why are they making simile using the word ‘keling’? Why are Indian classified? Of all the harmony and peace talk, why people still differentiate Indians?
Yes, I do know that Malays, Chinese and others have their own racial slurs. But trust me when I say this, their names are not used as much as the word,’Keling’. I’ve done my research. And one of the best place to get this type of research done is schools, offices and obviously, the goverment/parliament.
So, in conclusion, what do people actually mean by using ‘keling’? Are they trying to say that Indians are low chaste? Do they think Indians are no-use beings? Most probable answer is Yes.
So, we can be as open-minded as possible but how much more of insults do we Indians neede to hold up ? If these sort of racial slurs are encouraged, there will always be another name like ‘Keling’ for other races. I admit that not only Indians are discriminated in the world, but, everyone needs justice.
BTW, I am proud to be an Indian. I don’t care if my ancestors are from Kalinga. In fact, I love Kalinga. I love Gujerati and Punjabis too. In fact, I love all people. My best friends are Malays, Chinese and Punjabis but yet, still there is racism there.
I tell you guys of 2 tales of racism between me and my friends.
-I was with my friends at this condo to interview the tenants. As we walked out the exit, my fren, Syahirah said in Malay, ‘Did you see the guy there? The one who looked like Keling? He was staring at us all the time’. After saying that, she said, ‘Sorry, Lisa. No offense’.
-My fren, Daljeet was talking to me the other day. She told me that she doesn’t like the fact that her sister might be in love with a Indian-Tamil guy. She thinks that Indians are not good people and she also said she means no offense to me.
*From all these talk, can you say that the word,’Keling’ is not offensive? If you still can, I’m totally breaking down.
Tell me what think about it…
To Lisa, (Please hv an Oxford Dictionary handy near you as you read this, for i do too.)
After reading some of the more informative stuff here from responsive readers and doing own small research on this “derogative word” known as ‘keling’, i figure i have to do this little bit of educating other ppl who may also hv this problem of solving issues similar to yours. As i’ve experienced these low intelligent “racists” during my childhood days, i’ve had the single most simple curiousity about the word myself back then. Due to lack of resourceful information before, i was left to my own devices and just had to accept the “insults” but since i didn’t really know what it actually meant, it didn’t really hurt me. So, with ignorance attacking me, ignorance is my weapon too. My simple suggestion for you to solve this probable psychological attack is this : Show them the mental mirror. What’s a mental mirror, you ask? (A mental mirror is an own creation of this minion here btw.) You create a mental mirror on your perpetrator by asking back the question of the meaning of the word used by him/her. Find out the answer from your ‘attacker’ and try processing it in your mind to see if you actually register a reason to feel hurt. If your attacker actually has his/her answer to his/her own used words, feel free to email his/her reply to me before actually feeling hurt to receive assistance. What YOU went through wasn’t any sort of mirror but a transparent glass. The word sent by your ‘attacker’ went direct to your delusioned unprotected mind and therefore without a proper reason you were hurt by the unprocessed information. To instil intelligence, patience, composure and clarity is truly required. (Especially to deal with such low intelligence.) In other simple words, you need to be cool before blowing off steam too quick. Else, your head burns and your attacker has been successful in his ploy to make you feel inferior of yourself. Racism is a political weapon or tool used in a propaganda machine. It may not have any meaning but is subject to decept the ‘victim’s’ mind to demoralize theirself. If the victim is demoralized, the attacker gains better control over the victim’s resources. To counterattack this deception, bring back sense and reason onto your attacker. However, a word of caution too: Racist morons may not process your information due to them suddenly holding their mental mirror in front of you as you counterattack. They may use ignorance and keep firing back senselessly at you no matter what you say. These are the morons i talk about that you should avoid for they will hv you join their insane club of senseless rage to cause war. Hence they & you become warmongers. Informative or complex explanation,deary?
Hello Malaysians….im a Malay girl but for me the real Keling who ever who practising caste system….but Malaysian Indian are more educated now compare to India,Pakistan and Bangladesh as well as they still practising caste system…what a shame!!! fyi..once upon a time my ex boy friend also an Indian,open minded,educated and humble!! :))) Melayu pun ada yg belagak….so I call them Melayu belacan xsedar diri…chinese as well….almost are conman but hot all la macha!! he he he..have a nice day….proud to be Malaysian …”Saya anti dan benci dgn system kasta” they are really moron!!!
@anti caste - Well said! I agree with your statement wholeheartedly.
“Saya anti dan benci dgn system kasta”.
Dear friends….actually we are all human being and please la do not “lable” each other…grow up and be broad minded….what ever it its I agreed that caste system is even worse and inhumanity…what a stupid Indaian who are parctising this!!!! for me ppl who suppose to be call “Keling” are the person (Indian) believes in “Caste System” they are so stupid!! and such a brainless human in the world..they tot they are great and better than others but in a reall life they do not know dat the whole world hates them !!! especially those are from India …they are so proud with their so called “Brahmin la….Raja la…” I dont give a damn at all!!! and i dont give them a shit to classify them as a “high class Indian” actually they are a “typical Indian” and doesnt matter Muslim Indian or non Muslim…they are a super idiot because I’ve been to India and I know this system still exist untill now……and dont be surprise malaysian Indians….some of them still practising this stupid ,,idiot “caste system”….if you pple want to know “They Are the reall Keling”!!!
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