Is Seattle’s ban on caste discrimination 'Hinduphobic, racist'?

The landmark law to ban caste discrimination in the United States’ Seattle city has vexed some among the South Asian diaspora. The Seattle City Council on Tuesday (21 February) voted in a 6-1 majority to include caste as a protected class in the city’s municipal code, alongside other categories such as race, religion and gender identity, reported CNN. The ordinance was written and proposed by Councilwoman Kshama Sawant, an upper-caste Hindu and the sole Indian-American member of the city council. Taking to Twitter, she wrote after the vote, “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".

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 ✊ pic.twitter.com/1mBJ1W3v6j

— Kshama Sawant (@cmkshama) February 22, 2023

The division within the South Asian community was visible at Seattle City Hall where the council approved the historic legislation, as per Associated Press (AP). While many Dalit activists and groups lauded the move that made Seattle the first US city to outlaw caste discrimination, some Hindu groups voiced their opposition. What does the law on caste discrimination say? Why has a section of Hindus in the US opposed it? What are the arguments for the move? Let’s understand. Seattle bans caste-based discrimination

The law bans discrimination based on caste in jobs, housing and other areas.

As per a statement by Seattle City Council, “the legislation will prohibit businesses from discriminating based on caste with respect to hiring, tenure, promotion, workplace conditions, or wages. It will ban discrimination based on caste in places of public accommodation, such as hotels, public transportation, public restrooms, or retail establishments. The law will also prohibit housing discrimination based on caste in rental housing leases, property sales, and mortgage loans.” [caption id=“attachment_12196922” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Seattle has banned discrimination based on caste in jobs, housing and other areas. AP[/caption] Real Change reported earlier that “Seattle is one of the cities where caste discrimination remains a largely hidden and unreported issue”. The newspaper quoted a spokesperson from the Seattle Office of Civil Rights as saying, “Caste Status is not a recognised protected class in the city of Seattle and if our office were to receive a complaint based solely on caste discrimination, we would not be able to investigate it”. This law has come after similar steps were taken in some colleges and universities in the US. In December 2019, Brandeis University near Boston became the first college in America to add caste to its nondiscrimination policy. Since then, many higher education institutes such as California State University System, Colby College, Brown University and the University of California, Davis have adopted alike measures. In 2021, Harvard University recognised caste bias, adding it as a “protected category” for all graduate and undergraduate student workers. What is the opposition? The law has received opposition from certain Hindu groups who say it “singles out” their community which is already susceptible to discrimination in the US, reported AP. Suhag Shukla, co-founder and executive director of the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), told BCC that caste bias is “wrong and violates core Hindu principles.” But she added that the new law signals “that our community, which makes up less than 2 per cent of the population, is so uniquely bigoted that we need a special category under the law to police us, reinforcing xenophobic stereotypes we had hoped the US had moved beyond”. Ohio’s first Hindu and Indian-American state Senator, Niraj Antani, also hit out at the ordinance, claiming “caste discrimination simply doesn’t exist now”. “Adding it to their non-discrimination policy is Hinduphobic, and is a tool those that are anti-Hindu use to discriminate against Hindus in America, in India, and around the world,” Antani was quoted as saying by AP. [caption id=“attachment_12196952” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Opponents of the law argue that it ‘singles out’ the Hindu community which is already susceptible to discrimination in the US. AP[/caption] “Instead of passing this racist policy, Seattle should be passing policies to protect Hindus from discrimination,” he added. The Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA), which had signed a joint letter along with several organisations against the Seattle City Council’s caste ordinance, condemned the vote, saying the law was “divisive and discriminatory”. Around 100 organisations and businesses wrote to Seattle City Council this week, opposing the caste ordinance as it would “violate the civil rights” of the South Asian community, reported BBC. “This law itself is inherently discriminatory because, unlike other categories such as race, gender, religion, ancestry, etc it singles out the South Asian community as requiring special monitoring,” CoHNA president Nikunj Trivedi said, as per AP. “In taking this step, the city has relied on information from groups that have openly called for a dismantling of Hinduism – thus becoming an avenue for platforming hate against a minority group. It seems Seattle city is also openly saying that South Asians require more monitoring than all other groups,” he alleged. According to AP, CoHNA Steering Committee member and Dalit community activist Aldrin Deepak said his “voice was ignored”. “The council gave voice only to selected voices, without taking into consideration the fact that not all groups in the Dalit-Bahajun community support such a divisive and discriminatory bill”, he further stated. Seattle council member Sara Nelson, who voted against the ordinance, called it “a reckless, harmful solution to a problem for which we have no data or research.” “This could generate more anti-Hindu discrimination and could dissuade employers from hiring South Asians,” she said, as per AP. “The community that is being impacted is deeply divided on this issue.” Managing director of the HAF, Samir Kalra, slammed the vote, saying: “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”, reported Indian Express.  What do supporters of the law say? Supporters argue that the law is needed as caste is not included under the current civil rights protections in the US. As per a 2016 survey by Equality Labs, a Dalit advocacy organisation, “All of the inequalities associated with caste status have become embedded in all of the major South Asian American institutions and they extend into mainstream American institutions which have significant South Asian immigrant populations,” reported Indian Express. These findings have been dismissed by some Hindu groups including CoHNA and HAF. Thenmozhi Soundararajan, executive director of Equality Labs, whose advocacy work continues to endorse caste discrimination laws, said the Seattle council vote was “a culture war that has been won.” “This was a win centuries in the making and it was really the fruition of many years of organizing in Seattle across racial and gender and worker lines,” Soundararajan told CNN. “It’s also proof that the South Asian community wants to heal from caste.” Sawant said she hopes other cities in the US would follow Seattle’s example and take similar steps. Seattle council member Lisa Herbold refuted the Opposition’s view that the law singles out Hindus and people of Indian descent. “That’s like saying gender discrimination laws single out all men,” she was quoted as saying by AP. “And just because we have a small population that is experiencing (caste discrimination) that doesn’t make it any less important”, Herbold added. After the vote, Yogesh Mane, a Seattle resident who grew up as an “untouchable” in India, told AP: “I’m emotional because this is the first time such an ordinance has been passed anywhere in the world outside of South Asia". “It’s a historic moment." With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.