News Brief
Anti-Hinduism In Guise Of Anti-Nazism? Uber Bars Swastika Over Her Name, Reinstates Account Months Later
Left-Swastika, Right-Hitler's Hakenkreuz
A woman in Australia named Swatika Chandra was banned from using Uber for months as her name was considered offensive by the food delivery app.
When she was trying to order food from Uber Eats last year, a pop-up, saying that it is in violation of the company's terms, emerged when she typed her name.
This happened because Uber restricts using some offensive words as name and the word Swastika is linked to its usage by Adolf Hitler and anti-semitic Nazis.
However, Chandra told A Current Affair that her name is linked to Hinduism as she grew up in Fiji which has a large Indian population.
"They don't know that the Hindus used it for thousands of years before Hitler used it in the wrong way," Chandra said targeting Uber's policies.
"I'm very proud of my name. I believe in the good that comes with it and I'm not changing it for anyone," Chandra said as Uber had asked to change name to join platform.
However, five months later, the Uber has now apologised to Chandra and reinstated her account. This came after the intervention of the Hindu Council of Australia and the New South Wales attorney-general.
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