Grand Tamasha: Caste debate in US varsities, cities roils Indian diaspora

The freelance journalist Sonia Paul spoke about America’s caste battles on last week’s episode of Grand Tamasha, a weekly podcast on Indian politics and policy co-produced by HT and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Later this summer, California could be first American state to ban discrimination on the basis of caste. Earlier this year, California State Senator Aisha Wahab, an Afghan American, recently introduced a bill to add caste as a protected category under the state’s anti-discrimination laws, along with gender, race, sexual orientation, and age. California’s move, and the moves by universities, cities, and towns across the United States, to raise issues of caste discrimination has generated a massive controversy that is roiling the Indian American community.

Based on her reporting in the United States, Sonia told Grand Tamasha host Milan Vaishnav that even having to identify or self-identify as Dalit is perceived by some Dalits in America to be a form of discrimination.

The freelance journalist Sonia Paul has been doggedly pursuing this story for years, even before it became a mainstream news issue. Sonia is an award-winning journalist, writer, producer and story editor based in Oakland, California, and she is the daughter of immigrants from India and the Philippines. She spoke about America’s caste battles on last week’s episode of Grand Tamasha, a weekly podcast on Indian politics and policy co-produced by HT and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Based on her reporting in the United States, Sonia told Grand Tamasha host Milan Vaishnav that even having to identify or self-identify as Dalit is perceived by some Dalits in America to be a form of discrimination. “There is no one way of being a Dalit and people have different ways of negotiating with this identity. Some people are open about it, and others have a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy about it,” she explained. But “if you think about how it works in India, when people apply for government jobs or education in public universities, they have to check a box disclosing their caste. So, when they come to the United States and they don’t want caste to be relevant” their first reaction is often “Why should we mention caste? What is the relevance of this?”

In 2020, a California state agency filed a lawsuit against the San Jose–based tech giant Cisco, alleging caste discrimination against a Dalit employee. This opened the floodgates for other South Asian immigrants to come forward with their stories of discrimination. But Paul emphasizes that this should not be reduced to a phenomenon uniquely afflicting Silicon Valley and the technology sector. “I’ve heard stories about people working in restaurants being isolated and discriminated against because of their caste background,” said Paul. Or when it comes to housing, “where people try to get a room and they’re not necessarily signing a formal rental agreement…and even if the room is offered, the person might take back that offer if they know the person’s caste background,” she continued.

However, not all South Asian Americans are equally able to exercise their rights, Paul cautioned. Lack of citizenship can often be an impediment to taking legal action. “When it comes to immigration status, it goes beyond the H1-B [visa for high-skilled workers]…It is common among South Asian communities, experiencing caste discrimination, where people are here on political asylum or even undocumented,” Paul said. “So, if they’re experiencing this discrimination that is already hard to explain and that is not very explicit in the law, what wherewithal do they have to go and file a file a lawsuit? These people are just trying to keep going with their lives.”