Ritu Jha–
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.”
Kamble is no pushover. An Ambedkarite feminist, she is the president of the Ambedkar Association of North America, based in Washington, DC. She has been working on caste equality for long, and was a strident supporter of Seattle City Councillor Kshama Sawant when she introduced the bill to add caste to the non-discrimination clauses.
She believes that if the California Bill SB 403 becomes law, it might stop people at work from discriminating, and would be an avenue to get companies “to understand what we are talking about.”
To be sure, SB 403 is awaiting California Governor Gavin’s Newsom signature. Proponents of the bill have been fasting or are a liquid diet for almost a month, hoping this would have an impact on him.
“There is a lot of pressure from those opposing the law,” Kamble told indica.
Last week, the city of Fresno in California became the first in the state to add caste as a protected category in its anti-discrimination protections.
California Coalition for Caste Equity initiated a statewide hunger strike to ensure the enactment of anti-caste discrimination bill SB403 hailed the news waiting for the Governor to sign the bill.
What will change when the bill becomes law? Kamble said the “impact has been huge” and that “people have begun talking about caste.”
She said, “There is an increased level of awareness in the past 10 years. If SB 403 becomes law, it will have the same impact as the movement against gender-based discrimination. Now, it is normal to have training and caucuses to support women, women groups and pride groups.”
She added, “Venture Capitalists wear purple during pride month. So, it’s taken seriously when it’s a law.”
Kamble, a software engineer by profession, believes that the law will be the first step in curbing discrimination at the workplace. If it’s a law, it will get mandated for companies. The HR get more aware.”
Her lived experience has been that she has been discriminated both at work and among friends. She said the pain is so intense that sometimes she avoids visiting houses on religious occasions.
She said it’s natural to be friends with Indians but, “I have felt discriminated both at first place and among friends. The Brahmins never call us, and if they do, they do a shudhhikaran (a purifying ritual) after the guests leave. These are educated Indians. This is what they are teaching their grandkids. And now they tell us why we are talking about caste. Kids are not aware what caste is. What they are teaching is, ‘what is purity’, ‘what is veg and pure veg’. These are friends that live nearby.”
Kamble is Buddhist. “When you tell people you are Buddhist,” she said, “they ask whether you are a convert. And they try to figure out your caste in whatever way possible. They avoid you, they seclude you from the group even in office during a lunch meeting. And that is more dangerous for me, and t feels very bad.”
She is not alone, Kamble says. “There are many such cases. Managers at tech companies are given more power and they have the power to hire, fire, and promote people.”
Kamble shared her own experience. “Until my manager discovered my caste, he would praise me and called me a silver bullet of the team. But it all changed one day.”
She think he Googled her and saw a YouTube video where she is helping Ambedkarite kids in India. “He told me you are famous on YouTube and after that, he won’t let me talk even if I would talk in meetings. He acted as if I did not exist, and colleagues were asking why he is talking and behaving like that.” Kamble said she was fortunate to get support from colleagues.
She added, “Once I volunteered for a project and he said you don’t touch this project because you are ill-fated… He said Hindi, ‘tum manhoos ho’. South Asians understood Hindi and were shocked. I was in shock, too.”
Kamble was on an H1-B visa, and there was not much awareness about caste then. “The next day I asked him if I could speak to you and said I will go to HR. I was hesitant because I thought I would lose my job. But he said if I felt bad I am sorry but there was no remorse for calling me ‘manhoos’.”
The California caste discrimination Bill SB 403, authored by Senator Aisha Wahab after several amendments, was born after a lawsuit by California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing against Cisco Systems Inc in 2020 on the basis of a complaint from an Indian-descent Dalit employee who had alleged caste-based discrimination by two of his supervisors, also of Indian-descent, Sundar Iyer and Ramana Kompella.
When the lawsuit was filed, many wondered why even ‘caste’ still dominates the Indian mind. The Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara though has dismissed the case against Iyer and Ramana, but not against Cisco.
Amar Shergill, who helped Senator Wahab in drafting the bill and helped the California Democratic Party amend its bylaws in 2021 and added caste as a protected category, told indica that he is not fasting, but “We are hopeful that Governor Newsom will acknowledge the fast and take prompt action. He has often been a leader on civil rights and we look forward to him helping lead the way again.”
Govind Acharya of Amnesty International USA told indica, ”I am not fasting, but I support what they are doing.”
Kamble added, “People will be afraid even if they want to discriminate, and even if people are discriminated, we will have an avenue to go and complain. They (opponents of SB 403) say the recourse is there, but if it is there then why Americans are not aware it.”
Pointing to Newsom’s 2004 bold initiative when he was the mayor of San Francisco 2004 allowed same-sex weddings, Acharya said that was on the forefront and signing this will be another big thing for him. Governor Newsom has until October 14 to decide whether veto or sign.
The Bill’s opponents met Governor Newsom recently, and along with Iyer and Ramana, the Hindu American Foundation has filed a lawsuit alleging the California Civil Rights Department in the Cisco caste discrimination case.
The complaint states that the Civil Rights Department has violated several constitutional rights of Hindus and Indian Americans living in California due to the manner in which it pursued its case alleging caste discrimination at Cisco Systems.
Last week, Iyer spoke at a CoHNA event and said that Cisco couldn’t find anything and I am a self-proclaimed Dalit. The damage has been done. I am self-identified as a Dalit and gave every position to a Dalit. “Truth always wins,” said Iyer.
Maya Kamble: California caste discrimination law will help companies raise awareness
