In a first, California lawmakers outlaw caste discrimination

California lawmakers have passed a bill that outlaws caste-based discrimination in the state. If the legislation becomes law, then it will become the first US state to enforce such a rule that has traditionally existed in South Asian communities.

The bill, introduced by Democrat Senator Aisha Wahab, will now be sent to Governor Gavin Newsom, who will decide whether to sign it into law.

Wahab is the first Muslim and Afghan-American woman elected to the state Legislature.

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Discrimination laws extended to caste

Though there are already laws in place to ban discrimination based on sex, race and religion, this is thefirst time in California that the anti-discrimination law has covered caste in a state that has a noticeable presence of South Asian community, especially Indians.

California's civil rights law goes further by outlawing discrimination based on things like medical conditions, genetic information, sexual orientation, immigration status and ancestry.

On Tuesday, the state Senate voted 31-5 to approve a bill that would redefine “ancestry” to include “lineal descent, heritage, parentage, caste, or any inherited social status,” reports AP news agency.

“The more our communities become more and more diverse, we need to go further and deeper to protect more people — even when certain issues are more invisible to the mainstream public,” Wahab said.

Bill passed amid strong pushback

In the days leading up to the passage of the bill, Wahab received a massive pushback from the South Asian community, who argued that the bill unfairly targets them. Some even said that caste discrimination is not a problem in the US.

Earlier this year, the Hindu American Foundation in a letter to state lawmakers expressed worry that South Asians could be “forced to answer intrusive questions about or be judged for who they are married to.”

In the legislature while voting, five Republicans voted against the bill, saying it would prompt the government and others to inappropriately judge people of South Asian descent.

State Senator Shannon Grove, a Republican from Bakersfield, noted caste was a complex system with no universally agreed definition.

“This is not a bill that protects, but it's a bill that profiles,” Grove said.

Notably, voters in California can also veto laws passed by the Legislature. If enough people sign a petition, it triggers a referendum where voters are asked whether they want to keep a certain law or block it.

Why California?

There is a reason why California state lawmakers raced to form safeguards against caste discrimination.

In recent years, caste-based discrimination has rattled the Silicon Valley, a large draw for South Asian technology workers, especially in Southern California.

A 2020 lawsuit by the California Civil Rights Department — believed to be the first in the state to be filed on the grounds of caste-based discrimination — accused two Cisco supervisors of discriminating against and harassing an employee who identified as Dalit, the lowest class in the caste hierarchy.

The case against Cisco is ongoing, though complaints against the two supervisors were dropped earlier this year.

(With inputs from agencies)

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