A invoice in search of to explicitly ban caste-primarily based totally discrimination in California cleared its first legislative hurdle on Wednesday after the kingdom`s senate judiciary committee unanimously determined to transport the draft regulation to the senate.
This marks the primary time a US kingdom legislature considers a invoice on caste, the today’s in a string of movements that has spotlighted the dynamics of caste in America. The invoice, SB 403, turned into delivered ultimate month through kingdom Senator Aisha Wahab who stated caste discrimination turned into a social justice and civil rights issue.
“Caste is an invisible shackle located on human beings at birth. Those people now no longer raised in that machine can`t in all likelihood apprehend what it does to one`s psyche, the inter-generational trauma it causes,” Wahab stated.
The improvement got here months after Seattle have become the primary American metropolis to explicitly ban caste-primarily based totally bias in employment, housing, public shipping and retail establishments, amongst others. If SB 403 passed, California ought to grow to be the primary kingdom withinside the US to comply with suit.
“I am pleased to mention California is nicely on its manner to turning into the primary U.S. kingdom to recognize our popularity as humans and redefine caste fairness protections,” stated Thenmozhi Soundarajan, founder and govt director of Equality Labs, an anti-caste advocacy group.
But the improvement additionally sparked competition from a few Hindu groups, who stated the invoice will gasoline hate towards Hindus. “We worry the invoice will inspire non secular profiling and stereotyping of a minority. We accept as true with it advances baseless hateful narratives towards those groups through legalising a presumption of guilt and turns a long-status bedrock precept of American justice on its head,” stated a joint assertion of firms led through Coalition of Hindus of North America.