Ambedkar Society for South Asia (ASSA) organized an Exclusive Talk with Kshama Sawant, Member Seattle City Council, on her life achievements, especially on banning of caste-based discrimination in Seattle City, US on 6th July 2023 at 9PM (PST).
Kshama Sawant talked about her journey and accomplishments. When she became the first socialist elected to the Seattle City Council in over a century and has been a powerful advocate for working-class families and marginalized communities. She said that I grew up in a Brahmin household and from my earliest memories, I rejected this idea of caste. Of course, for me, my political radicalization was not exclusively on the caste issue. That was one of the issues because it's inevitable. In India, it's everywhere. It's entrenched into the fabric of life. So anybody who denies caste is of course, being dishonest. She mentioned her achievements when she successfully pushed for a minimum wage increase to $15, making Seattle the first major city in the US to adopt such a measure. She also played a role in passing an ordinance to ban caste discrimination in Seattle, another historic victory. During his talk, Kshama Sawant emphasizes the importance of collective organization and solidarity in bringing about change.
She discusses the opposition she faces from powerful figures like Jeff Bezos, who fear the influence of Marxist ideas. We have been denied ads on YouTube, Google, Amazon alone has spent $3 million to defeat us. Despite such oppositions, our organization has won multiple elections and plan to leave city council undefeated. Our strategy is to unite working people and fight for their rights and the experience of being part of a successful movement is a powerful force for change. We have won a lot of renter's rights victories because Seattle has a raging housing affordability crisis. This is true across the nation and also this is true worldwide. Housing is one of the most basic needs and capitalism is not ready to fight for that because housing runs on profits for the landlords and the banks and the venture capitalists. As the concentration of people, working people of South Asian origin had grown in North America, both in the US and Canada, the incidences of caste discrimination have also become more widespread and certainly people who have experienced it even before. Kshama Sawant emphasizes the need for a strategic and fighting approach in the battle for social and economic justice. She acknowledges that occupying a moral high ground is not enough to win, and that exposing lies and actively challenging the opposition is essential. Sawant discusses the challenges faced in introducing the caste bill ordinance, including opposition from both upper-caste Indians and the Democratic establishment.
Overcoming these challenges involved launching a high-profile campaign, engaging working people, providing political education and drawing parallels with other social justice movements. Sawant also addresses the entrenched caste discrimination present in South Asian American communities and the growing Hindutva support in the US. Despite these obstacles, she remains committed to the fight against caste discrimination and building solidarity among all marginalized communities.
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