Facebook bans racist word 'Kalar' in Myanmar, triggers censorship

In recent years, rise of radical nationalist movements has given the word a derogatory connotation

According to Myanmar Facebook users, their posts are being taken down by the popular social media company for containing the word ‘kalar’.

Although the etymology of the word is still debated, it is traditionally used to refer to people of east Indian origin or as an adjective meaning “Indian” in general. Facebook is censoring the word “kalar” or ????? (in Burmese script) as part of its initiative to tackle the problem of widespread hate speech on the Burmese language social network.

In recent years, the rise of radical nationalist movements has given the word an extremely derogatory connotation. ‘Kalar’