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July 8, 2023                                                                 info@castefiles.com

SAN FRANCISCO, CA —An intense and relentless campaign by Indian Americans to stop the ill conceived Senate Bill 403 and the addition of “caste” in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, has barely yielded any dividend. State Sen. Aisha Wahab (D-CA) has remained adamant and retained the word “caste”  

The Bill has gone through multiple iterations and appears to have been diluted. “Caste” was removed as a stand-alone nondiscrimination category from SB 403. However, the revised version of the bill—which passed in the Assembly Judiciary Committee on Wednesday—now includes "caste" as one of several terms that clarify the existing category of "ancestry,” 

It is still troubling because while the bill removed language in the original text that singled out and targeted South Asians and other ethnic communities, it still retains a mention of "caste" which has a singular association with South Asians and Hindus in particular. 

Any addition of Caste, whether done 65 times or once, still has the same purport—it continues to profile and single out Indian Americans, particularly Hindu Americans – how can that be acceptable in America? This is not Pakistan or Afghanistan where religious minorities can be profiled, blasphemed and persecuted. There is a decided infiltration of foreign depravity in this law and this is a dangerous precedent,” said Caste Files Founder Richa Gautam. 

Major organizations including the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), HinduACTion, and the Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) have issued statements expressing disappointment regarding passage of SB-403 in California's Assembly Judiciary Committee. 

An analysis submitted by Committee Consultant, Tom Clark suggested removing "caste" as a stand-alone category, keeping the definition of "caste" from the original bill and clarifying “ancestry” as the amended SB 403 does. However, under pressure, Clark expressed frustration and described Wahab’s resistance as "perplexing," saying, “None of the support letters and related background material submitted to the Committee suggests that caste is not a part of one’s ancestry.” 

In a statement, HAF Executive Director Suhag Shukla said, “The author’s intention to target South Asians has been clear since she first introduced her bill. And regardless of the bill’s attempt to define caste through verbal gymnastics, it won’t change the likelihood of disparate impact on our community,” Shukla concluded.

Wahab’s original bill mentioned "South Asian" six times and "caste" 65 times, whereas the revised bill eliminates "South Asian" entirely and reduces "caste" to a single reference as "caste, or any inherited status."

Nevertheless, the proponents of the bill are celebrating the addition of “Caste” as a big victory. In a display of rare candor, Senator Wahab—the author of the bill—told NBC News that the "amendments to the bill won’t change how the bill can be applied if it becomes law.”

Several grassroots leaders delivered testimony in opposition to SB 403 on Wednesday, including Satnam Singh, a prominent Sikh American leader from Yuba City. “So long as caste is equated with India in the public imagination and the state of California requires public schools to teach caste as something unique and inherent to India and Hinduism, ‘caste’ will always be associated with South Asians,” Singh said. Following the hearing, Singh added, “The specific inclusion of the word under ‘ancestry’ will be used to stigmatize and profile us as a matter of law.”

A joint statement by community and business networks—Hindu Business Network (HBN), Asian American Shop Owners Association (AASOA) which includes over 5000 members, Hindu Mandir Executives' Conference (HMEC),  World Hindu Council of America (WHCA), American Hindus Against Defamation (AHAD) and Hindu Policy Research and Advocacy Collective HinduPACT—issued a joint statement stating, “We unequivocally condemn today's vote by CA State Assembly Judiciary Committee in favor of SB 403, the "Caste" bill. We do not accept the minor modifications made to the bill. The bill still retains references to "caste" and therefore, we firmly believe that it exclusively targets American Hindus and especially Hindus who trace their national origin to the Indian subcontinent.   

The bill’s definition may not include "South Asian," "Indian," or "Hindu, …(but it remained clear that) the Bill’s target remains exclusively people who follow dharmic traditions of Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Buddhist.”

If you are interested in understanding the truth about caste and race, please visit the Caste Files website at http://www.castefiles.com and become part of the conversation.

For more information, contact info@castefiles.com

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