California is on the verge of becoming the first state to ban caste discrimination, as legislators voted Tuesday to forward SB403 to the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat.
Mr. Newsom, a Democrat, is expected to sign the bill outlawing discrimination based on a person’s caste background. Seattle passed a similar law in February.
Caste is a system of social hierarchy originating in the Indian subcontinent, assigning status at birth and enforcing social barriers between groups.
California lawmakers contend that caste culture continues to govern interpersonal relations within groups originating in South Asia. This spurred them to add caste to protection regarding a person’s ancestry.
South Asia encompasses Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the Maldives, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bhutan and India.
The bill lists examples of discrimination within the caste system as “inability or restricted ability to alter inherited status; socially enforced restrictions on marriage, private and public segregation, and discrimination; and social exclusion on the basis of perceived status.”
The bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Aisha Wahab, a Democrat, was quoted by The Associated Press saying, “The more our communities become more and more diverse, we need to go further and deeper to protect more people — even when certain issues are more invisible to the mainstream public.”
Ms. Wahab is an Afghan American.
The bill passed the state Senate 31-5. One of the five, Sen. Shannon Grove, a Republican, said caste is too broadly defined and could lead people to wrongly judge South Asians.
“This is not a bill that protects, but it’s a bill that profiles,” Ms. Grove said.
South Asian advocacy groups have been incensed by the bill. Some Hindu groups contend that laws targeting caste are a broadside against their community, given the historical association between Hinduism and the caste system.
“Today is a sad day. California has reawakened its racist past in passing legislation that demonizes and targets South Asians and Hindus. Fifty California legislators chose to side with anti-Hindu hate groups rather than showing moral courage and upholding the Constitution,” Hindu American Foundation Executive Director Suhag Shukla said in a statement Aug. 28, when the bill made it past the California State Assembly on a 50-3 vote.
Other South Asian groups have applauded the move, particularly those representing groups at the bottom of caste hierarchies such as the Dalits.
“Historic win in California SB403 wins. … No one messes with caste in America! Congratulations to all those who tirelessly worked,” the U.S.-based Dalit Solidarity Forum wrote in a post on X.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.