Seattle becomes first US city to ban caste discrimination

Seattle has become the first US city to outlaw caste discrimination after its local council passed a resolution moved by an IndianAmerican politician and economist to add caste to its nondiscrimination policy The resolution moved by Kshama Sawant an uppercaste Hindu was approved by the Seattle City Council by six to one vote The results of the vote could have farreaching implications on the issue of caste discrimination in the USIts official our movement has won a historic firstinthenation ban on caste discrimination in Seattle Now we need to build a movement to spread this victory around the country Sawant a city council member said soon after the resolution was voted Hours ahead of the vote IndianAmerican Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal lent her support to the moveCaste discrimination has no place in society anywhere in the world including here in America That is why some colleges and universities have banned it on campuses and workers are fighting for their rights and their dignity in cases involving caste discrimination she saidAlso Read Education first Mumbai girl chooses education over marriage says fianceacutee motivated meEquality Labs the brain behind the anticaste discrimination resolution in Seattle and which has been spearheading a nationwide campaign said Love has won over hate as Seattle has become the first in the nation to ban caste discrimination We have braved rape threats death threats disinformation and bigotry It has created a coalition of some 200 organisations in support of its efforts over the issueCentral to this coalition is a network of more than 30 anticaste Ambedkarite organisations Equality Labs said Among them are the Ambedkar King Study Circle Ambedkar International Center Ambedkarite Buddhist Association of Texas and Boston Study Group The Hindu American Foundation which had campaigned against the resolution said singling out South Asians and the addition of caste to the nondiscrimination policy violates the very policies it now amendsThe City of Seattle has voted to treat South Asians and Southeast Asians and African in a manner that no other ethnic or racial community is treated under the guise of nondiscrimination It has voted yes to discriminating against ethnic minorities repeating the ugliness of nativists in the state nearly a century ago Suhag Shukla cofounder and executive director of the Hindu American Foundation saidIn passing this resolution Seattle is now in violation of the US Constitutions guarantees of equal protection and due process that prohibit the state from treating disparately people on account of their national origin ethnicity or religion and implementing a vague facially discriminatory and arbitrary category Shukla allegedSeattle has taken a dangerous misstep here institutionalising bias against all residents of Indian and South Asian origin all in the name of preventing bias said HAF managing director Samir Kalra When Seattle should be protecting the civil rights of all its residents it is actually violating them by running roughshod over the most basic and fundamental rights in US law all people being treated equally Kalra saidMadhu T from AmbedkarPhule Network of American Dalits and Bahujans said this illintended and rushed ordinance by a controversial council member will only harm South Asians in particular Dalits Bahujans It is traumatising to witness that a propaganda which is no less than a war on Dalits makes this far with no data and with a fraudulent survey while the real Dalit Bahujan voices continue to go unheard said Madhu2022 report by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Johns Hopkins and the University of Pennsylvania not only discredited the caste survey referred by Seattle City Council but it had shown that there are multiple reasons like country of origin gender and skin colour that need to be addressed as cause for discrimination The ordinance will only increase the instances of hatred against South Asians including Dalits said V Kadam from Dalit Bahujan Solidarity NetworkMany IndianAmericans fear that codifying caste in public policy will further fuel instances of Hinduphobia in the US Over the last three years ten Hindu temples and five statues including those of Mahatma Gandhi and Maratha emperor Shivaji have been vandalised across the US as an intimidation tactic against the Hindu communityIndianAmericans are the secondlargest immigrant group in the US According to data from the 2018 American Community Survey ACS which is conducted by the US Census Bureau there are 42 million people of Indian origin residing in the United States India banned caste discrimination in 1948 and enshrined that policy in the Constitution in 1950This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its 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