Reactions began pouring in thick and fast on Saturday as soon as California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed the controversial and groundbreaking caste discrimination Bill SB 403, a legislation that would have added caste to the anti-discriminatory clause of state law.
California Governor Gavin Newsom on Saturday vetoed the California Caste Bill, SB-403, on the grounds that discrimination based on caste was already prohibited under California law and the bill was therefore unnecessary.
The landmark California anti-caste-discrimination bill — SB 403 Discrimination on the Basis of Ancestry’ — cleared the state Senate Concurrence panel with a 31-5 vote. It now reaches Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk who is likely to sign it into law, thus making California the first state in the US with such a legislation.
The California State Assembly passed the landmark anti-caste-discrimination bill SB 403 on August 28 with a 50-3 vote. It now moves to the Senate for its final concurrence vote before heading to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk to be signed into state law. What started as a lawsuit at one of the Silicon Valley big tech companies Cisco is today on the verge of becoming a historic ‘caste’ law that never an Indian community would have imagined. When the lawsuit was filed in 2019, many wondered even ‘caste’ still dominates the Indian mind, but advocates of the Bill such as Thenmozhi Soundararajan say it still does, and that such a law is very much needed.
Some called it winning a tough, uphill task but others called it a black day for California History after the much-debated anti-caste discrimination bill — ‘SB 403 Discrimination on the Basis of Ancestry’ — passed the California Assembly floor with 50-3 votes, on August 28. Introduced by California State Senator Aisha Wahab (Democrat, 10th District) SB 403 seems one step closer to the Governor’s desk. When the Senate passes it and Governor Gavin Newsom signs it into law, California will become the first state in America to make caste bias illegal by adding it as a protected category in the state’s anti-discrimination laws.
California State Senator Aisha Wahab (Democrat, 10th District) sprang into the spotlight late last year for becoming the Muslim to be elected to the state law-making body. An Afghan American, Wahab has been in the crosshairs of Hindu advocacy groups the moment she introduced California Bill SB 403 in February 2023, which aimed at ending caste discrimination in the state.
The amended version of SB 403, the legislation introduced by California State Senator Aisha Wahab to counter caste discrimination, shows that the word ‘caste’ has been almost erased from the bill and has been replaced by ‘ancestry’. The first instance of the word ‘caste’ appeared in the first line of the original legislation. However, in the amended version, which was made public on July 10, reads: “SB 403, as amended, Wahab. Discrimination on the basis of caste ancestry.” The word ‘caste’ has been struck through.
The California state Senate passed SB 403, the Bill to ban caste-based discrimination in the state, on Thursday. The Bill, approved by a vote of 34-1, provides individuals with legal options to address allegations of caste bias and discrimination in housing, employment, education, and other contexts.
Protests, petitions, and meetings with lawmakers did not stop the California Senate Judiciary Committee to vote ‘Yes’ to SB 403: Discrimination on the Basis of Caste, which passed the committee with a resounding 8-0 vote on April 25. SB 403 or State Bill 403 is a piece of legislation introduced to make the state free of caste-based discrimination. If signed into law, California will become the first state in America to make caste bias illegal by adding it as a protected category in the state’s anti-discrimination laws.
The California State Assembly’s Appropriations Committee has approved the proposed anti-caste discrimination legislation SB403 on August 16. SB403 was authored and presented by State Senator Aisha Wahab. The approved version will now be sent to vote soon in the state Assembly.
Hundreds of Indian American community advocates, leaders and members traveled in car, special rented coach buses to Sacramento July 5 to be part of the California Assembly Judiciary Committee hearing of the Discrimination on the Basis of Caste bill SB 403 which without much hurdle was voted 11-0, sending it to the floor of the Assembly.
On September 9, several Hindu American civil rights organizations traveled to Sacramento from across California and organized a peaceful protest against SB 403, the now-passed bill on Discrimination on the Basis of Ancestry’. They called it “unconstitutional” and urged Governor Gavin Newsom to veto it. The silent march was organized to draw the Governor’s attention to the fear of the community that SB403 would single them out from all other California residents.
On April 25, the California Senate Judicial Committee is scheduled to hear ‘Bill SB 403, Discrimination on the Basis of Caste’, an event that has gained global media attention as well as concern among the Hindu American community, with some civil rights groups claiming that the passing of the bill will target certain people and that it is not uniform.
The demand to recall California District 10 State Senator Aisha Wahab is building pace by the day. The California Secretary of State’s office approved petitions for circulation for the recall of Senator Wahab on December 15, and the first rally was held Dec 23 at the senator’s constituency in Fremont, Calif. More rally signature rallies are planned for Dec 30 in Milpitas and Dec 31 in Santa Clara.
What you do when your boss calls you ill-fated on learning your caste? Maya Kamble learned it the hard way. “He knew what my caste was, so he wanted to dominate me as much as possible. And one day, he asked me not to touch a new tool because I was ill-fated,” she told indica. “It was a direct reference to me being from an untouchable background, and I could just remember how my ancestors were supposed to not touch things just because they were considered bad luck and even their shadow was considered bad luck.”
Lawmakers, community leaders, delegates, and researchers from across the US converged at Capitol Hill where the Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) hosted the second National Hindu Advocacy Day to discuss the concerns of Indian American Hindus on July 11.
To challenge caste discrimination on ideological, political and social fronts in the United States of America, 22 organizations joined hands to form America Against Caste Discrimination (AACD), an alliance of progressive organizations that would help in mobilizing support to pass the anti-caste discrimination bill SB403 in the California State Assembly.
It was 10 pm on April 29 (PST) and the FalconX Incubator and Accelerator conference hall in Milpitas, California was full of Indian Americans who had gathered to listen to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s monthly radio talk show Mann Ki Baat’s 100th episode on April 30 (IST).
Jeevan Zutshi has been holding the IACF Unity Dinner for 22 years in order to build bridges with diverse groups. “I am still hopeful that we will flourish as a peaceful community as we understand each other better and not divide ourselves,” Zutshi told indica, soon after this year’s Unity Dinner on April 21.
U.S. based Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) has urged North American companies, cities and universities to take corrective action and redress harm done through adoption of “caste” policies, following a study done by Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI ) and the Social Perception Lab at Rutgers University in November.
The academic study found that exposure to caste discrimination narratives results in bias against Hindus as a whole.
In a landmark decision, the court penalized the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) in a high-profile caste discrimination lawsuit filed on behalf of a “Dalit” employee against Cisco Systems. The case, which had brought widespread scrutiny and criticism to Indian American managers Sundar Iyer and Ramana Kompella, culminated in a verdict that awarded Cisco Systems a symbolic $2000 in sanctions against the CRD. While the penalty may seem minor, the judgment represents a significant win for both the Silicon Valley company and Hindu American civil rights.
The CRD, formerly known as the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), had been accused of unfairly targeting Iyer and Kompella, labeling them as perpetrators of caste discrimination. However, a whistle-blower website exposed evidence of prosecutorial misconduct and fabrications by the CRD, bringing to light the flaws in the case.
In the ongoing caste-based discrimination case between Cisco and the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) now called the Civil Rights Department (CRD), a Santa Clara County Court judge says she now believes there is no harm in disclosing the name of the plaintiff ‘John Doe’, because it lacks evidence that it would harm him or his family back in India.
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Justice Markandey Katju writes: Governor Gavin Newsom of California has vetoed the caste discrimination bill passed by the California legislature. I submit that laws made in America against caste discrimination will just be gimmicks unless caste is destroyed in India by a mighty people’s struggle.
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