Hindu woman Swastika de-platformed by Uber citing her name’s appropriation by Hitler’s Nazi Party, later issues apology

Case ID : 4137a33 | Location : Australia | Date of Incident : Thu, 18 April, 2024

Case ID : 4137a33

Australia

18 April, 2024

Hindu woman Swastika de-platformed by Uber citing her name’s appropriation by Hitler’s Nazi Party, later issues apology

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Case Summary

Swastika Chandra, a 35-year-old woman from Sydney, encountered a dispute with Uber after being banned from using the app due to her name. Her birth certificate, Australian citizenship certificate, health care card and driver’s license all bore her name without any trouble. However, Uber suspended her account in October of last year citing her name’s appropriation by Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party and neo-Nazis as a breach of their conditions of usage. She was informed that in order to regain access to the application, she would need to modify her name. Notably, Swastika or Swastik are common names in India because the Swastika symbol is an integral part of the Hindu faith, symbolising good fortune and prosperity in the ancient Sanskrit language. After a period of five months, Uber conceded, expressed regret and offered her permission to re-join the platform. However, it required the assistance of the New South Wales attorney general, the Jewish community, The Hindu Council and Australia’s leading Hindu organisation to intervene. Chandra expressed her pride in her name and emphasised the need for cultural understanding. The Swastika holds positive connotations and significance in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and other cultures, and is unrelated to the Nazi symbol of anti-Semitism, ‘Hakenkreuz.’

Why it is Hate Crime ?

In several cases, Hindus are attacked merely for their Hindu identity without any perceived provocation. A classic example of this category of religiously motivated hate crime is a murder in 2016. 7 ISIS terrorists were convicted for shooting a school principal in Kanpur because they got ‘triggered’ seeing the Kalava on his wrist and tilak that he had put. In this, the Hindu victim had offered no provocation except for his Hindu religious identity. The motivation for the murder was purely religious, driven by religious supremacy. Such cases where Hindus are targeted merely for their religious identity would be documented as a hate crime under this category. Here, the reason for discrimination against the Hindu woman was merely her name. Uber suspended her account citing her name (Swastika) connecting it to Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party and neo-Nazis. In truth, the Swastika symbol is an integral part of the Hindu faith and is completely unrelated to the Nazi symbol of anti-Semitism, ‘Hakenkreuz.’ In conclusion, discriminating against a woman named Swastika because of the Nazi appropriation of the swastika symbol is an unjust and harmful act that disrespects her cultural and religious identity which stems out of hatred against Hinduism and thus this case has been included in the hate tracker.