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.
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.
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.
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.
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Aisha Wahab to counter caste discrimination, shows that the word ‘caste’ has been almost erased from the bill and has been replaced by ‘ancestry’.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 city of Sunnyvale, California is taking action after a series of brazen daylight smash-and-grab robberies to Indian-owned jewelry stores.
The city plans to install automatic license plate readers and is meeting with store owners to advise them on enhancing security.
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.”
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.
What’s really pushing the State of California to add the racially loaded term ‘caste’— a term that would apply to less than 2% of its population on the basis of their ethnicity and religion — to its nondiscrimination law?
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.
Top Dalit activist and engineer Milind Makwana, who took up cudgels recently against the caste discrimination bill in California state assembly, has died of a heart attack. Makwana died soon after he spoke against the SB-403 caste discrimination bill at a city council meeting in Cupertino last week, according to the Hindu American Foundation (HAF).
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.
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.
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.
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.
California state has dropped its allegations of caste-based bias by two Indian-descent employees of IT giant Cisco but will continue the larger case against the company. California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing had filed this case in 2020 based on a complaint from an unidentified employee of the company making it the first case of caste-based discrimination reported in the US.
Ritu Jha- Concerned over the way farmers participating in peaceful protests have been treated by law enforcement in India, more than two dozen elected officials in the US, mainly of Sikh descent, have urged the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately halt their campaign of abuse as well as repeal the “anti-farmer” bills that […]
In California, the move to recall Senator Aisha Wahab picks up momentum Personal, community concerns drive Surinder Dhaliwal campaign for San Jose District 8 Indian American Harbir Bhatia has big plans for Silicon Valley Central Chamber of Commerce in 2024 Nikki Haley appears set to end 2023 on an unexpectedly strong note The New York […]
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.
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