California Takes Stand Against Caste Discrimination with Introduction of Historic Bill in State Senate

California is taking a stand against caste discrimination with a new bill introduced in the state Senate on Wednesday. The bill, authored by state Sen. Aisha Wahab, would add caste as a protected class to California’s anti-discrimination laws, alongside categories such as race, physical disability and gender expression.

If passed, this would be the first effort of its kind by a US state legislature to explicitly ban caste discrimination. “This is a civil rights bill, and this is a human rights bill,” Wahab told CNN.

The bill is intended to clarify existing protections for caste-oppressed people and to formally acknowledge that the effects of the age-old South Asian system of social stratification can also be found in the US. The caste system has dominated in South Asia for centuries, stratifying society into immovable social classes that impact work, marriage and daily life.

Though discrimination based on caste is now illegal in India, it’s still present in the lives of Dalits, those born at the bottom of the caste hierarchy. Advocates of the bill hope it will help to combat this discrimination and create a more equitable society in California.

The bill is now in the hands of the state Senate, and its passage would be a historic win in the fight against caste discrimination in the United States. If passed, it would be the first of its kind in the US and a major step forward in the fight for civil rights and human rights.