Seattle council decision on caste discrimination| Wokeism#8

On 21st February 2023, the Seattle City Council passed the resolution establishing caste as the protected category under its non-discrimination policy. The resolution was moved by Kshama Sawant, an Indian-American socialist, which was passed by six to one vote. A city council is a municipal body having the power to pass laws along with administrative powers. With this resolution, Seattle became the first city in the US to outlaw (ban) caste discrimination. There are seven more cities in the US, which are on the verge of doing the same. The background for this decision can be traced in our previous article named ‘Experiments with Caste’ and also for the fact that, in the year 2020, the company named Cisco was sued by the State of California for allegedly allowing an Indian-American employee to harassed by his managers because of his caste. This case is still pending a verdict.

 

 

 

Soon after the passing of the said resolution, there were mixed reactions from various persons and organizations. Kshama Sawant said, “It’s official: our movement has won a historic, first-in-the-nation ban on caste discrimination in Seattle! Now we need to build a movement to spread this victory around the country”. Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal said, “Caste 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”. Equity Labs, a Dalit civil rights organization is said to be the brain behind the anti-caste discrimination. Along with it, there is a coalition of more than 30 anti-caste Ambedkarite organizations.

 

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Hindu American Foundation (HAF), an advocacy group for Hindus, said that caste discrimination is wrong, violating core Hindu principles of the divine oneness of all beings but singling out of Hindus and South Asian communities in the resolution was problematic. Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) said, “This ordinance peddles bigotry and singles out the South Asian community by using racist, colonial tropes of “caste” and ensures that our community is subject to special scrutiny, thus denying our rights to freedom of religion and equal protection”. There are a few pertinent things and questions one must note and ask considering the above anti-caste discrimination resolution while stating in unequivocal terms that discrimination on the basis of caste is wrong:

The Indians constitute only two percent of the population of the state of Washington where Seattle is situated. Indians are the most likely to be affected by this decision because Indians have been stereotyped, especially Hindus whose lives revolve around castes.

 

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How many Indians living in America identify themselves on the basis of caste? How many business organizations, educational institutions, etc. identify people on the basis of their caste? Have the American laws succeeded in combating and ending racism against the African-Americans? Remember, racism is the bigger issue in the country where the Blacks have not only been killed by their racial counterparts, but also by law enforcement officials. Was the American law not well equipped to handle caste-based discrimination? If yes, why did the Seattle city council pass the ordinance? Are there any anecdotal incidents of caste-based discrimination in the US? If yes, why are there reports suggesting that the council members couldn’t state one incident of such discrimination? Why was the only authoritative research and survey done by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, ignored whose findings said that caste-based discriminations are extremely rare, in contrast with the city council statements about rampant caste-based discrimination in the US? It is pertinent to note that the above survey specifically rebuked the findings and methodology of a survey by Equality Labs upon which Councilmember Sawant based her resolution. Does this anti-caste discrimination ordinance also include South Asian (mainly Indian) Christians and Muslims among which the caste system exists? Note that there exists a caste hierarchy among Christians where Dalit Christians are discriminated against for being Dalit converts and the Muslims also have a caste hierarchy namely Ashraf/Sharif (high caste), Ajlafs (backward Muslims), and Arzals (Dalit Muslims).

 

Also Read: Experiments with Caste| Wokeism#7 

 

These questions, if unanswered may pose a serious threat to meritocracy (success on the basis of merit). There is a concern among the people that this ordinance, if not implemented properly may deny admission to educational institutions, or a job in a company to any person on a mere allegation of caste discrimination against that person. Remember that America is known to offer a good life to any person who works and succeeds there on the basis of merit. For centuries together, people, irrespective of their religion, caste, gender, or any other identity have succeeded in their lives after migrating to the US.