Colourful history of racial slurs.

Racial Slurs

In a multi racial country, racial slur is common but going overboard is insulting. The word ‘keling’ has existed since the 15th century. Academic and historical references to the origins of keling, point to the Kalinga kingdom in India. Malay historical annals in the 15th century made references to the people of Kalinga, which exerted cultural and economic influence over South-East Asia. The term keling later evolved to include anyone originating from the South of India.

As a history teacher myself, I feel the need to inject the right knowledge into the ignorant heads of not all but some who use the word derogatorily,  especially in Malaysia.

It is stated that the Malays once referred to India as Benua Keling. Furthermore, in the Sejarah Melayu (the Annals of Malay history), the term Keling is used to refer to India. Long past the end of the Kalinga Kingdom in 1842, derivatives from its name continued to be used as the general name of India in what are now Malaysia and Indonesia. 

"Keling" was and still is in use in these countries as a word for "Indian", though since the 1960s Indians came to consider it offensive. A point to note is, in its early usage, the term was not considered offensive or derogatory by anyone.

Who are the Kalingas? Kalinga was an early republic in central East India that comprised north eastern parts of modern state of Andhra Pradesh, most of the modern state of Odisha and a portion of Chattisgarh & Madhya Pradesh States. 
The Sadhavas were ancient mariners from the Kalinga Empire. They used ships called Boitas to travel to distant lands such as Bali, Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Persia, China, Greece and Africa to carry out trade and for cultural expansion. 
Coconuts, earthenware, sandalwood, cloth, lime, rice, spices, salt, cloves, pumpkins, silk, sarees, betel leaves, betel nuts, elephants, and precious and semi-precious stones were the main items of trade. Sometimes, even women were allowed to navigate as "Sadhabas". 

These navigators were instrumental in spreading Buddhism and Hinduism in East and South East Asia. In addition, they disseminated knowledge of Indian architecture, epics such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, Indic writing and Sanskrit loan words in many Indo-Chinese languages such as Khmer and Indonesian. Maritime trade declined only in the 16th century, with the decline of the Gajapati dynasty. Today, the descendants of these ancient mariners generally bear the last name "Sahu".

At the beginning the word keling was used without any malicious intent but now people have twisted the meaning here and there to make it become offensive. Some Malays, called the Indian Muslims ‘keling pelikat’ and the Chines called them ‘Keling kia’ in a racist context.

Whatever the reasons, it simply reflects the poor mentality of some people who have made ‘keling’ into an offensive and derogatory word.

An honorable Member of Parliament used the word 'keling' in Parliament, saying that the word is not derogatory. To add salt to the wound, he used the idiomatic expression 'keling botol' (drunkard) which is not complimentary to the Indian community in Malaysia at all. One has to judge whether it was his ignorance or arrogance.

An Indian Muslim association appealed in the High Court in Malaysia to remove the derogatory word ‘keling’ from Kamus Dewan but in vain.. The word stirred up wrong sentiments among the Indian community.


Popular usage in Malaysia also suggests a tone of general disrespect to Indian Malaysians. The phrase janji keling (promise keling), cakap macam keling (talk like keling) are used by people of Malay-speaking communities to refer to a liar. The Chinese call them as 'Kleynga' They usually add a suffix 'Ki' which means 'devil'.

When asked the origin of the word keling, some people surprisingly came up with interesting versions. One version is that, the cowherds back then were Indians and you could hear the cattle approaching because of the bell on the cows’ necks making the ‘clink, clink’ sound. And that’s how the word came to be synonymous with Indians.

There’s also another undocumented version of how Indian girls, especially dancers, wore anklets which produced the clinking sound and this eventually became identified with that particular community.


Keling is used in a derogatory manner in Malaysia but in Indonesia no such bad stigma is attached. It is just a name. In Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, there's a place called Pacar Keling. The Phrase 'Pacar' itself means 'Lover' in Bahasa Indonesia.


In Bali there is a place called Budakeling. It is an amazing village of farmers, craftsmen, goldsmiths, dancers, painters, and stone sculptors. You can even get engraves of Sanskrit ‘lontar’ manuscripts.

I had visited Medan in Indonesia several times and was surprised to see the number of Indians who had settled there. Many of their ancestors were brought to Indonesia by the Dutch to work in tobacco plantations. They live in harmony with the Chinese and Indonesians in a place called kampung Keling. Surprisingly, when I visited Medan recently, this place has been renamed as Kampung Madras. I was told that the city administration changed its official name to Kampung Madras — the word keling connotes dark skin and raised objections among the local Indian community.

But even in harmonious states there exist racist undertones. In Sarawak there is the very derogatory term la kia (Hokkien for barbaric child though some claim it means native) to refer to the Dayaks.

And for those who think they are above racial insults; look at how the Orang Asli is being viewed. Have you not heard Jakun or Sakai being used to disparage someone who is regarded as backward and uncivilised?

It is human nature for a group of people from a certain culture to assign racial insults on other groups that do not share the same characteristics with them. It is up to parents or guardians to teach their children on how to handle racism. Having racial slurs forcibly removed is a waste of time except to educate the future generations.

So there you are. However innocent a word may appear, as long as it is used offensively by groups and with regularity, there is no defense for its usage. So be kind with your words.