HomeAmericasPoliticsAmidst Outcry, California Senate Committee Passes Bill On Caste Discrimination

Amidst Outcry, California Senate Committee Passes Bill On Caste Discrimination

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Amidst Outcry, California Senate Committee Passes Bill On Caste Discrimination

Photo : Ambedkar International Center (Left), Twitter, Richa Gautam (Right)

India-West News Desk

SACRAMENTO, CA – A bill seeking to ban caste discrimination in California was unanimously passed by the state’s Senate Judiciary Committee on April 25, amidst strong opposition from Indian American business and temple organizations.

This will now move the California Caste Bill SB 403 forward to the Senate. If passed, the bill introduced by State Senator Aisha Wahab, the first Muslim and Afghan American elected to the state legislature, would make California the country’s first state to make caste bias illegal by adding it as a protected category in the state’s anti-discrimination laws.

Over a hundred California Dalits testified before the committee and spoke of bias, exclusion, and violence they’ve experienced at the hands of what they said was meted out to them by caste-privileged co-workers and bosses. In all, between the live testimony and phone calls, a little over 200 people said they support the bill and over 400 said they oppose it.

Equality Labs, the brain behind the anti-caste discrimination resolution in Seattle, WA, has been spearheading a nationwide campaign. Seattle became the first US city to outlaw caste discrimination in February.

Thenmozhi Soundararajan founder of Equality Labs told the media, “Today, I proudly stand in solidarity with my caste-oppressed community members, caste equity movement organizers, and allies to say that caste-oppressed Californians are now one step closer to attaining the protections they deserve and are entitled to.”

The protestors at the hearing were vociferous too. Several people were on the sidewalks holding signs against the bill. Many referred to what had transpired earlier this month, when the California Civil Rights Department voluntarily dismissed its case alleging caste discrimination against two Cisco engineers, Sundar Iyer and Ramana Kompella. The litigation against the Silicon Valley tech giant remains though.

Major Indian businesses and temples issued a joint statement against it.

Asian American Hotel Owners Association, the largest hotel owner’s association in the US with 20,000 members strongly opposed it. Kalpesh Joshi, a Board Member, said “We believe that it will disproportionately impact Indian hotel and motel owners.”

Vipul Patel, president of Asian American Shop Owners Association, representing over 8,300 stores, said the bill was based on the fabricated narrative of caste discrimination in America. “This bill is misguided and will promote prejudice against all Indian American small business owners including shop owners who form the backbone of California’s economy in these challenging economic times.

“We fear that this bill, if passed, will encourage frivolous lawsuits against small businesses, causing many of them to go out of business,” he said.

Tejal Shah, convenor of the Hindu Mandir Executives’ Conference, an umbrella organization of Hindu temples in North America, said the organizations and individuals behind the bill have made their disdain for Hindu customs and traditions very clear. “Common Hindu greeting ‘Namaskar’ (‘I bow to the divinity within you’), traditional Hindu practices such as classical dance, music, and sacred festivals such as Diwali and Holi have been vilified. Passage of SB 403 will legitimize this assault on the freedom of religions and make Hindu temples more vulnerable to physical attacks,” Shah said.

Led by the Coalition of Hindus of North America, over 100 other organizations said the bill targets South Asians, along with other people of color such as those from other regions. “We fear the bill will encourage religious profiling and stereotyping of a minority. We believe it advances baseless hateful narratives against these communities by legalizing a presumption of guilt and turns a long-standing bedrock principle of American justice on its head. If passed, the bill violates the civil rights of South Asians and other people of color and denies them equal protection and due process,” it said.

India banned caste discrimination in 1948 and enshrined that policy in the Constitution in 1950. 

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  • This is how woke so-called “progressives” (really? Or divisive?) democrats are destroying the democratic party. They are like cancer. Is this issue so critical while many Californians are struggling to bring foods on the table or to buy medicines for survival or a place to stay? It is a cunning trick by the megaphone user but minority group to divert our attention from extremely critical issues to minor ones to create divisions among us. They are the true cancer of the party helping the corrupt Republicans to regain power.

    April 26, 2023
  • OK. So now what?

    You can come to my Umiya Mataji Temple in one of two ways.
    1) Be a Patidar
    2) Be invited by a Patidar to a Patidar family function

    You can be a Patidar by marrying a Patidar boy. Do you have the goods?
    You can be invited in one of many ways. Easiest is if your beautiful or rich daughter was accepted by a Patidar and you are now family.

    Then there is the issue of worship!

    April 26, 2023
  • What a joke.
    We have white priests at Hindu Temples in the USA. No one has asked the caste of the priest.

    This is just the reaction to the success of Hindus in India. And Hindus getting the Saud and UAE to open up and allow their temples to be built in Saud an UAE.

    April 26, 2023
  • This bill is a big travesty and the sensibilities of one religion. Will the “Honorable Senate Member” who introduced this bill in the senate discuss the discriminations in other religions that impact the populace here and introduce another set of bills against such practices/discriminations in those religions? No, its the Hindus who can be brow-beaten as they were for centuries in their homeland. And now by these woke/ so-called progressives/hindu-haters/misguided Indians who don’t have anything better to do, rather than bringing in their prejudices here.

    April 26, 2023
  • This bill is a big travesty and against the sensibilities of one religion. Will the “Honorable Senate Member” who introduced this bill in the senate discuss the discriminations in other religions that impact the populace here and introduce another set of bills against such practices/discriminations in those religions? No, its the Hindus who can be brow-beaten as they were for centuries in their homeland. And now by these woke/ so-called progressives/hindu-haters/misguided Indians who don’t have anything better to do, rather than bringing in their prejudices here.

    April 26, 2023
  • Democracy will be burnt and twisted as per majority voters. Truth can be suppressed. Here dream of Baba Saheb Ambedkar (Indian Constitution author) is protected in California, USA. India ignored it all through independence. Great long live Democracy and down with suppress…BLM, casteism as well. Kudos. For “justice of justice.”

    April 26, 2023
  • Seriously. CA and its woke culture is a disgrace to what this nation stands for. This is a deep state agenda with Christian missionary playing behind the scenes role to target and attack law abiding and most productive community in the country. They milked CA lawsuit for 3 long years which got dismissed. Times may change but the mindset of the racist and imperialist missionary agenda will not. If they can, they will even implement Jim Crowe laws against targeted communities like Hindu Americans. No wonder Mahatma Gandhi called missionary activities as deadliest poison (and which is why they target Gandhi!). CA Hindu Americans, time to leave and settle in another state.

    April 26, 2023
  • Wahab is an anti-India person. She should be ashamed of herself. Instead she should try to improve conditions of Hindus living in Pakistan.

    April 26, 2023
  • If I am not mistaken, even Mormons practice so-called discrimination since only mormons are allowed into the sanctum sanctorum of their temple. In Mecca, Medina only muslims are allowed in. Wonder of wonder, Ms Wahab, practicing Islam is the one who is pushed the bill according to news article. Would Ms Wahab ok to allow non-muslims to Mecca/Medina? That is a legitimate question.

    April 27, 2023
  • I don’t understand the objections over passage of this bill; if caste discrimination is illegal in India, why can’t California have similar laws banning caste discrimination.

    There are temples in India where non hindus are not allowed entry just like mosques that do not allow non muslims.

    May 5, 2023
  • Mr. Bhasin, can you tell me of the temples where non Hindus are not allowed entry? I think you are a christian missionary, trying the age old divide and rule. In cases like this we should follow China treatment for NGOs
    Adding bills will be useless if people do not follow it. Being a pedophile is a crime. roman Catholic church pedophiles did that anyway all across USA and possibly the globe.
    How about Aisha Wahab, having a law a Muslim man can have only one wife? If a man can have 4 wives, then she can have 4 husbands.

    January 3, 2024

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