California's anti-caste bill moves ahead, gets nod from Senate committee
1 min read . Updated: 26 Apr 2023, 05:17 PM IST
PremiumThe California Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday unanimously voted 'Yes' to move the anti-caste discrimination bill forward to the Senate. This is for the first time that a US State legislature would consider legislation on caste.
California's Senate committee has passed a bill that seeks to explicitly ban caste discrimination. The bill was introduced last month amidst strong opposition from Indian-American business and temple organisations. This will incidentally be the first time that an US State legislature is mulling such a measure.
The bill received an unanimous nod from the California Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday and will now be sent to the next committee for consideration. Caste would be added as a protected category in the state’s anti-discrimination laws if the bill is passed, making such bias illegal in America's most populous state.
The development also comes mere weeks after the city of Seattle passed a landmark law banning caste-based discrimination. The resolution had been moved earlier this year by Indian-American politician Kshama Sawant. Seattle had been the first American city to ban caste discrimination as well as being the first jurisdiction at any level globally outside South Asia to do so.
“We’ve hit a nerve and exposed a form of discrimination many never even knew existed," said State Senator Aisha Wahab - the first Muslim and Afghan American elected to the state legislature. She told committee members that she has received death threats after proposing this legislation last month.
While Wahab insists that the bill 'does not target any specific community or religion' opponents have called the proposed legislation “unconstitutional" and said it would unfairly target Hindus and people of Indian descent. Major Indian businesses and temples issued a joint statement opposing the proposed California Caste Bill SB 403.
(With inputs from agencies)