Google apologises for hurting Kannada sentiments on search after uproar

The Search result sparked an outrage among the netizens, with the Karnataka government threatening to issue a legal notice to the company. Google India said that it is not the reflection of the company, as it apologised for misunderstanding and hurting any sentiments.

Bengaluru:Facing a controversy after a Google Search with the keywords "ugliest language in India" showed "Kannada" in the results, Google India said on Thursday that it is not the reflection of the company, as it apologised for misunderstanding and hurting any sentiments.

The Search result sparked an outrage among the netizens earlier in the day, with the Karnataka government threatening to issue a legal notice to the company.

"Search isn't always perfect. Sometimes, the way content is described on the Internet can yield surprising results to specific queries," a Google India spokesperson told to a media agency in a statement. "We know this is not ideal, but we take swift corrective action when we are made aware of an issue and are continually working to improve our algorithms. Naturally, these are not reflective of the opinions of Google, and we apologise for the misunderstanding and hurting any sentiments," the company spokesperson added. The Search algorithm issue has been rectified now.

It was first seen on debtconsolidationsquad.com. The website now shows 429 error.

Minister for Kannada, Culture and Forest in Karnataka, Aravind Limbavali, took to Twitter earlier on Thursday and highlighted the controversy, demanding an apology from Google.

"Kannada language has a history of its own, having come into existence as many as 2,500 years ago! It has been the pride of Kannadigas all through these two-and-a-half millennia. If Kannada is now called the ugliest language in India, it is merely an attempt by Google to insult this pride of Kannadigas," he said in the tweet.

Bengaluru Central MP, C.A. Mohan, also shared a screenshot of the Google Search engine showing Karnataka as ‘ugliest language in India'.

Mohan said Karnataka is home to the great Vijayanagara empire and the Kannada language has a rich heritage, a glorious legacy and unique culture. "One of the world's oldest languages, Kannada had great scholars who wrote epics much before Geoffrey Chaucer was born in the 14th century. Apologise @GoogleIndia," he tweeted.

After Mohan's screenshot went viral on Twitter, social media platforms were filled with outrage, demanding an unconditional apology from the tech giant as well as the removal of any such offensive content associated with any language, including Kannada.

Janata Dal (S) strongman H.D. Kumaraswamy also lashed out at Google and sought to know why Google "behaves in an irresponsible manner" when it comes to the language. "This blunder by Google is not acceptable. It should be careful about language. Is it impossible for Google to curb such hatred against any language?", tweeted former Kumaraswamy.

Pro-Kannada organization 'Karnataka Rakshana Vedike' has lodged a complaint with the Baiyyappanahalli police station demanding action against Google.

(agency inputs)