Google shows Kannada as 'ugliest language', sparks controversy; apologises

The Karnataka government had also threatened to slap a legal notice on Google.

Politicians cutting across all party lines have slammed the search engine for such a reference to the language which is spoken in Karnataka, a southern state of India.

Slamming Google, Karnataka Minister for Culture, Aravind Limbavali tweeted, "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 ugliest language in India, it is merely an attempt by @Google to insult this pride of Kannadigas. Demand apology from @Google ASAP to Kannada, Kannadigas. Legal action will be taken against @Google for maligning the image of our beautiful language!"

In a series of tweets, former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy tweeted to question why Google turns irresponsible in terms of language.

"Not just Kannada, no language is bad. All languages are beautiful. Language is a matter of emotions. Abuse against language is very painful..." the former Chief Minister said in a tweet.

Following a huge uproar, Google issued an apology and stated it does not believe in the search result.

Google India issued a statement which read, " The search isn't always perfect. Sometimes, the way content is described on the internet can yield surprising results to specific queries."

"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."