California lawmakers passed a bill protecting individuals against caste discrimination on Tuesday, Sept. 5.
The bill makes California the first state in the country to ban discrimination based on caste, a way to categorize people by their bloodline.
The original caste system was derived from the Hindu religion, although it was subsequently influenced by Buddhist intervention, British rule and the ancient Aryans.
The Aryans are Indian immigrants whose roots are found in Southern Europe and Northern Asia.
Their fairer skin distinguished them from Indigenous Indians according to the Collaborative Organization for Virtual Education (COVE).
The Aryans discriminated based on four aspects: religious functions, military and political functions, economic functions and menial jobs that require physical labor over intellect according to COVE.
Today, the history of the caste system continues to affect the Indian-American community.
SJSU undeclared junior Atharv More said the bill’s efficacy is legitimate and any hint of the caste system should be banned, leaving it in the past.
According to College Factual’s website, There are around 2,041 Indian students on the San Jose State campus.
“I think the caste system should be banned,” More said. “I am of Indian descent. The caste system itself is a problem, but people’s mindsets are a bigger problem when they implement it over here.”
Hindu American Foundation member Murali Balaji said casteism is not merely based on colorism.
“The term caste and idea of an ancient and contemporary caste system was developed as a theory by Europeans,” Balaji said. “Colorism is a real fixation among some folks in the South Asian community, but in no way has connection to any religious background or tradition.”
De Anza College sophomore Sarthak Dassarma reflected on how his family influenced him in terms of keeping his culture and heritage rooted.
Dassarma said in comparison to other cultures, India takes most of the blame for casteism.
“There’s a huge misunderstanding of what caste is, or let’s say like a stigma,” Dassarma said.
He also said caste discrimination isn’t extinct, but has a prevalence in the Indian-American community.
Dassarma said many still aren’t fully aware of the long-standing effects of caste discrimination.
“Some of my friends don’t realize there’s definitely a difference of what caste means today than what it was before,” Dassarma said. “What we learned in history class is, you can only marry within your caste and for people below your caste, they automatically look down on you. People still attribute those things to how modern-day Indians treat each other, which I think is very far from the truth.”
Hindu American Foundation member Kavita Pallod Sekhsaria, said the discrimination she felt in India was different from that in America.
“I come from a very traditional Marwari Hindu family,” Sekhsaria said. “I recognize the pull to be defensive because for all the historic privilege I may have had within Indian or South Asian spaces. I’ve still been bullied here in America for being brown and Hindu.”
She said Hindu pride and its scope of devotion is the more fundamental approach to understanding Indian society rather than asking someone to grapple and confront their privilege.
Sekhsaria also said the idea that casteism in ancient India hasn’t changed or blamed Hindu philosophies or fundamentals is wrong.
“I have, nonetheless, the right and responsibility to say that the increasing number of calls insisting that caste is fundamental to my religion, and the solution to caste discrimination is to dismantle my religion is wrong, bigoted and Hinduphobic,” Sekhsaria said.
Sekhsaria said that the reality of Hinduism has historically been to inspire social reform and upliftment, not based on self-hatred rooted in ignorace.
“Let’s dismantle casteism,” Sekhsaria said. “Let’s dismantle caste supremacy, as we dismantle white supremacy in the United States.”
