California to become first US state to ban caste discrimination

California is coming closer to becoming the first American state to ban caste discrimination after a bill to outlaw the practice was passed in the state assembly on Monday (August 28). According to a report by the news agency Reuters early Wednesday, the assembly passed the bill- SB403 - by a near-unanimous vote. The bill was introduced and authored in March by state Senator Aisha Wahab, an Afghan-American Democrat.

Reuters reported that an earlier version of the bill passed the Senate before undergoing revisions.

"Proud to announce Senator Aisha Wahab's bill SB403 which I presented on the Assembly floor today, passed on a 55-3 vote. This bill prohibits discrimination based on caste in California," Assembly member Damon Connolly posted on X, earlier known as Twitter, on Tuesday.

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The revised version would now move back for a vote to the state Senate where it is expected to be passed, before heading to Governor Gavin Newsom to be signed into law.

Discrimination laws in the US ban ancestry discrimination but do not explicitly ban casteism. California's bill targets the caste system in South Asian immigrant communities by adding caste to the list of categories protected under the state's anti-discrimination laws.

Reuters reported activists opposing caste discrimination said it is no different from other forms of discrimination like racism and hence should be outlawed.

In February, Seattle became the first American city to outlaw caste discrimination after the local councilvoted to add caste to Seattle's anti-discrimination laws.

(With inputs from agencies)

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