The Kharavelan Jain kingdom had a formidable maritime empire with trading routes linking it to Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Borneo, Bali, Sumatra and Java. Colonists from Kalinga settled in Sri Lanka, Burma, and the Maldive and Indonesian archipelagos. Even today Indians are referred to as Keling[6]in Malaysia because of this.
Keling (pronounced /kling/) is a word used to describe Indians or Hindus in Malaysia[1] and Singapore, more specifically Malaysian Indians or Singaporeans of Indian descent. It is now generally considered offensive by Indians,[2] although it may often be used by other communities in Malaysia without any derogatory intention.
The origin of the term is rooted in the former cultural and economic influence of the Kalinga kingdom over south east Asian kingdoms.[2] .The ancient Indian Kalinga was located in southeastern India occupying modern day Orissa and northern Andra Pradesh.India was then referred to by the Malays as Benua Keling.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keling, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalinga_(India)
No comments:
Post a Comment