Last week, Seattle became the first U.S. city to pass a ordinance banning caste discrimination. The caste system in India is a division and hierarchy of people which is determined by birth and descent, and originated from Brahmanism, a spiritual philosophy which is considered a predecessor of Hinduism.  Although caste discrimination was banned in India in 1948, in many ways the caste system still persists in India. 

Here in America, activists say that as South Asians have emigrated to America, caste discrimination persists. Critics of the bill say that it will lead to more anti-Hinduism discrimination, and that it’s a painful reminder of the caste system which some believe to be obsolete in America. The Seattle ordinance gives legal recourse for those who have been discriminated against in the workplace, with housing, or in other circumstances. It passed by a 6-to-1 vote.

We speak with Kshama Sawant, member of the Seattle City Council who proposed the ordinance, and Prachi Patankar, a community activist and writer who has been an advocate against caste based discrimination.

Here are statements by two Hindu-American organizations critical of the bill, Coalition of Hindus in North America and the Hindu American Foundation. 

The Takeaway also received a statement from Sara Nelson, the lone Seattle Councilmember who voted against the ordinance: 

I voted against this legislation because it links caste discrimination with Hinduism and people of South Asian descent and we received hundreds of emails from opponents who argued that enshrining caste as a protected class here in Seattle will perpetuate racist and colonialist stereotypes and serve only to generate more anti-Hindu discrimination.

This perspective was not represented in any of the materials provided to Councilmembers and I could not support creating a new protected class for a culturally and historically complex concept when the community the legislation is supposed to protect believes it will do more harm than good.