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California nod for bill to ban caste discrimination
The development is the latest in a string of moves that has put in the spotlight the presence of caste among the South Asian population in the US, with a significant group of activists saying that birth-based biases continue to dog the diaspora
New Delhi: California moved one step closer to becoming the first American state to ban caste-based discrimination after a bill that adds caste as a protected category cleared a crucial hurdle in the state assembly on Monday.
Senate Bill 403 – which will add caste as an explicit category for anti-discrimination action in the state’s civil rights, education, and housing codes – passed by a margin of 50-3, marking the first time an American legislature has considered and cleared an anti-caste legislation. It will now move to the Senate for a final concurrence vote before heading to governor Gavin Newsom’s desk for his signature – the final hurdle.
“Thank you to all the assembly members who voted in support of SB 403 today. We are protecting people from a long-standing form of discrimination with SB 403,” state senator Aisha Wahab, who introduced the bill in the California House, said.
The development is the latest in a string of moves that has put in the spotlight the presence of caste among the South Asian population in the US, with a significant group of activists saying that birth-based biases continue to dog the diaspora. The battleground for several of these cases – especially the ones involving tech workers – has been California, which is America’s most populous state with 39.2 million residents, of which nearly a million are Indian-American.
“The assembly vote is a win for the ages. After conducting over 700 advocacy meetings across California, the people have spoken resoundingly for caste equity protections,” said Thenmozhi Soundarajan, the founder and executive director of Equality Labs, an anti-caste advocacy group.
“As a Californian who has endured caste my whole life, I know the struggles and adversity caste-oppressed Californians have unjustly faced firsthand. Caste-oppressed people have organised for over 20 years so we could have lives free from violent attacks and discrimination,” she added.
The assembly vote also came months after Seattle became the first American city to explicitly ban caste-based bias in employment, housing, public transport and retail establishments, among others. In December 2019, Brandeis University became the first US institution to include caste in its non-discrimination policy, and was followed by the California State University System, Harvard University, Brown University and the University of California, Davis.
But the bill has also opened deep rifts within the Indian-American community with groups such as the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) opposing such moves.
“Today is a sad day. California has reawakened its racist past in passing legislation that demonises and targets South Asians and Hindus. Fifty California legislators chose to side with anti-Hindu hate groups rather than showing moral courage and upholding the Constitution,” said Suhag Shukla, the executive director of HAF.
Advocates of the bill defended its purpose.
“Despite what opponents of this bill suggest, SB 403 seeks to build a better, more improved, and more peaceful California for everyone. This bill does not, nor will it ever target Hindus or any specific faith. Rather, it provides protections for all,” said Maya Kamble of the Ambedkar Association of North America.
