What That Means And Why The Movement Against Social Stratification Is Growing

Topline

Seattle City Council outlawed caste-based discrimination this week, a centuries-old form of social stratification with roots in South Asia, following years of activist organizing and similar bans at some American universities.

Key Facts

The Seattle City Council became the first U.S. city to ban caste-based discrimination on February 21.

The caste system is a social hierarchy structure that divides people at birth into social classes—it has roots in South Asia and Hinduism but also impacts African, Middle Eastern and Pacific communities.

India outlawed caste-based discrimination decades ago, but violence against Dalits—members of the lowest level of the caste system—is still pervasive, and activists say the growing South Asian diaspora faces caste discrimination in the United States.

Seattle’s legislation, proposed by council member Kshama Sawant, classifies caste as a protected class, like race and religion, under the city’s anti-discrimination laws.

The council approved the legislation in a 6 to 1 vote following a years-long push by Dalit civil rights organization Equality Labs and other local and national groups, though it faced resistance from some South Asian groups who say it could unfairly subject Hindus to legal scrutiny.

Efforts to address caste discrimination have proliferated in Seattle and Silicon Valley, where there are many South Asian residents, including some who have alleged caste discrimination in the tech industry (Washington state has more than 150,000 South Asian residents, with many based in the Seattle area, The Washington Post reported).

The anti-caste discrimination movement has gained steam in recent years: Brandeis University was the first U.S. college to make caste a protected class under its anti-discrimination policy in 2019, and others have followed suit, including the California State University system, Brown University, and the University of California, Davis.

In 2021, the California Democratic Party added caste as a protected category in its code of conduct, stating: “California must lead in the historical battle for caste equity and ensure we acknowledge the need for explicit legal protections for caste-oppressed Americans.”

Key Background

The caste system dates back thousands of years with roots in Hinduism in India, though it also impacts other religions and countries. It separated the priest class, the highest level, from the warrior class, merchant class and laborer class, with the Dalits (formerly known as “untouchables”) falling below the caste system. India outlawed caste discrimination decades ago, but the Dalits still face violence. Dalits in India, who make up 17% of the country’s population, were victims of a crime every ten minutes in 2020, The Washington Post reported. As the South Asian diaspora has grown, anti-caste discrimination groups said caste prejudice has followed to the United States, where activist groups like Equality Labs are pushing for an end to caste discrimination. Equality Labs director Thenmozhi Soundararajan told The Washington Post her organization has received complaints from hundreds of workers alleging “caste slurs in workplaces, bullying and harassment, sexual harassment, demotion to retaliation and even firing.” In 2020, 30 Dalit women employed at Silicon Valley tech companies including Google and Apple published a statement alleging caste discrimination at work and an inability to report instances because caste was not a protected class. The Alphabet Workers Union, which represents Google parent company Alphabet Inc. employees, has urged the company to explicitly ban caste discrimination.

Chief Critic

Some South Asian organizations, who worry codifying anti-caste discrimination measures will have the opposite of the intended effect, opposed the Seattle council vote. In a statement, the Hindu American Foundation condemned caste discrimination but criticized the Seattle council for the “singling out of South Asians” and for putting them under additional legal scrutiny. The foundation’s managing director Samir Kalra criticized the council for “institutionalizing bias against all residents of Indian and South Asian origin.” Before the council vote, more than 100 businesses and organizations cosigned a letter urging councilmembers to vote “no,” stating that the “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.”

Crucial Quote

“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,” Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant tweeted Tuesday.

Big Number

67%. That’s the percentage of Dalits living in the United States who said they’ve experienced unfair treatment in the workplace, according to an Equality Labs survey of 1,500 respondents.

What To Watch For

Caste discrimination will soon be taken to court. A California state court will hear a case from a former Cisco employee who alleged he was discriminated against because of his caste. The unnamed plaintiff alleges he was excluded from meetings and denied promotions because he is a member of the Dalit caste. He further alleges he was retaliated against by his employer for making a complaint about his treatment.

Further Reading

Seattle becomes first U.S. city to ban caste discrimination (The Washington Post)

Caste Discrimination Exists in the U.S., Too—But a Movement to Outlaw It Is Growing (TIME)