California Governor Gavin Newsom on Saturday vetoed a bill that would have made California the first US state to outlaw caste-based discrimination.
Caste is a division of people related to birth or descent. Those at the lowest level of the caste system, known as Dalits, have been pushing for legal protections in California and beyond. They say it is necessary to protect them from bias in housing, education and in the tech sector — where they hold key roles.
Earlier this year, Seattle became the first US city to add caste to its anti-discrimination laws. On Sept. 28, Fresno became the second US city and the first in California to prohibit discrimination based on caste by adding caste and indigeneity to its municipal code.
Photo: EPA-EFE
In his message Newsom called the bill “unnecessary,” adding that California “already prohibits discrimination based on sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation and other characteristics, and state law specifies that these civil rights protections shall be liberally construed.”
“Because discrimination based on caste is already prohibited under these existing categories, this bill is unnecessary,” he said in the statement.
A UN report in 2016 said that at least 250 million people worldwide still face caste discrimination in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Pacific regions, as well as in various diaspora communities. Caste systems are found among Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jains, Muslims and Sikhs.
Proponents of the bill launched a hunger strike early last month pushing for the law’s passage. During their campaign, many Californians came forward with stories of discrimination in the workplace, housing and education.
Opponents, including some Hindu groups, called the proposed legislation “unconstitutional” and have said that it would unfairly target Hindus and people of Indian descent.
The issue caused deep divisions in the Indian-American community. Hundreds on both sides came to the state capital, Sacramento, to testify at committee hearings in the state senate and assembly.
Thenmozhi Soundararajan, executive director of Equality Labs, the Oakland-based Dalit rights group that has been leading the movement to end caste discrimination nationwide, said that she still views this moment as a victory for caste-oppressed people who have “organized and built amazing power and awareness on this issue.”
“We made history conducting the first advocacy days, caravans and hunger strike for caste equity,” she said. “We made the world aware that caste exists in the US and our people need a remedy from this violence. A testament to our organizing is in Newsom’s veto where he acknowledges that caste is currently covered. So while we wipe our tears and grieve, know that we are not defeated.”
The Hindu American Foundation and Coalition of Hindus of North America said that Newsom’s veto was a victory for their advocacy efforts.
“With the stroke of his pen, Governor Newsom has averted a civil rights and constitutional disaster that would have put a target on hundreds of thousands of Californians simply because of their ethnicity or their religious identity, as well as create a slippery slope of facially discriminatory laws,” Hindu American Foundation managing director Samir Kalra said.
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