A bill that will outlaw caste discrimination in California cleared the first legislative hurdle as the state's Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday voted in favour of the legislation.
The bill titled 'SB-403: Discrimination on the basis of caste' if passed, would make California the first state in the US to make caste bias illegal and would add it as a protected category under California's anti-discrimination laws.
California's first state senator Aisha Wahab, who is the first Muslim and Afghan American elected to the state legislature, introduced SB-403 last month.
After Seattle became the first state to pass a law to amend anti-discrimination protections in employment, public places, housing, and contracting to include caste as a protected class, caste has divided the Indian-American and the South Asian community, with many equally backing and criticising the initiatives.
Wahab, the Democrat from Hayward, said the bill has hit a nerve and exposed a form of discrimination that many in the US have not heard about.
"We've hit a nerve and exposed a form of discrimination many never even knew existed," she was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. She also revealed she faced death threats after she introduced the legislation.According to National Council of Education Research and Training's (NCERT) Sociology textbook of Class XII, caste is described as 'the caste system is a distinct Indian social institution that legitimises and enforces practices of discrimination against people born into particular castes.
These practices of discrimination are humiliating, exclusionary and exploitative'.
These practices are observed elsewhere in the subcontinent as well and are not only common among Hindus but also among Muslims, Christians and Sikhs.
While speaking to the Guardian in March, Wahab said the Cisco caste discrimination case, the Cal State East Bay caste discrimination case and other issues inspired her to write and introduce this bill.
Earlier this month, the California Civil Rights Department voluntarily dismissed its case alleging caste discrimination against two Cisco engineers, Sundar Iyer and Ramana Kompella, while still keeping alive its litigation against the Silicon Valley tech giant, the Associated Press said in its report.
They were accused in the department's lawsuit of discriminating against and harassing an employee who identified as a Dalit.
She also referred to the case where caste equity activist, Thenmozhi Soundararajan, was barred from speaking at an event at Google in April 2022 for Dalit History Month.
Soundararajan's talk was cancelled because a handful of Hindu employees said that they felt "targeted" on the basis of religion, NBC News and Washington Post reported citing a company statement.
Soundararajan, reacting to the Senate Judiciary Committee's voting on the legislation this week, said: "We are so happy that this bill will now move forward. Supporters of this bill came from all over California today."
The legislation will now move to the Senate Appropriations Committee for consideration.
On April 25, at least 220 people said they support the bill and about 420 said they oppose it.
Those who experienced caste discrimination wanted the law to be passed but the Associated Press report also pointed out that several who spoke during the hearing identified as lower-caste, but maintained that the legislation is divisive.
Wahab tried to reassure those against the bill by saying that it does not specifically target any community.
Suhag Shukla, executive director of the Hindu American Foundation, said the bill ignores the community's "core concerns".
"(The bill) seeks to deny equal protection and due process under the law for only South Asians. The fact that there were hundreds of mostly Indian Americans at the hearing goes to show ... the efforts of those opposing the bill to block this assault on the civil rights of all South Asians, Dalits and non-Dalits alike," Shukla was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
Pushpita Prasad, a spokesperson for the Coalition of Hindus of North America, pointed out that even if the bill says it does not single out Hindus, it ends up targeting Hindus.
"When you look at the history textbooks in California, the word 'caste' is only mentioned in the chapter about Hinduism. Those who know little about this subject associate caste with Hindus and Indians," Prasad said.
Speaking to the news agency, Republican state senator Scott Wilk said he voted in favour of the bill but asked for more clarity on caste.
Democrat state senator Dave Min said "the pros (of the bill) outweigh the cons" and the legislation will clarify existing anti-discrimination laws.
A 2016 Equality Labs survey of 1,500 South Asians in the US showed 67% of Dalits who responded reported being treated unfairly because of their caste.
Ann Ravel, who served on the Federal Election Commission under President Barack Obama, supported the legislation saying that unless caste is explicitly added as a protected category, those who have faced discrimination will find it hard to access legal remedy.
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