On February 21 (native time), the Seattle Town Council in USA handed Councilmember Kshama Sawant’s backed solution to ascertain ‘caste’ as a safe class underneath the Town’s non-discrimination coverage. With the solution, Seattle was the primary Town in america to recognize ‘caste’ as probably the most causes for discrimination. Whilst those that supported the solution celebrated the victory, Hindu organisations and leaders identified it could put the group underneath further felony scrutiny.
In regards to the solution, Hindu American Basis (HAF) co-founder and Govt Director Suhag Shukla stated in an reputable remark, “All over our twenty years of life, HAF has maintained that caste discrimination is mistaken, violating core Hindu rules of the divine oneness of all beings. On the identical time, we care for that the singling out of South Asians and the addition of ‘caste’ to the non-discrimination coverage violates the insurance policies it now amends. The Town of Seattle has voted to regard South Asians in order that no different ethnic or racial group is handled underneath the guise of non-discrimination. It has voted sure to discriminating in opposition to ethnic minorities, repeating the ugliness of nativists within the state just about a century in the past.”
HAF added that via passing the solution, Seattle had violated the equivalent coverage and due procedure assured to each and every particular person via america Charter. Particularly, as in line with the charter, the state is unlawful from treating other people disparately at the foundation in their nationwide starting place, faith or ethnicity. The Basis’s legal professionals contended that the solution would put into effect a obscure, facially discriminatory and arbitrary class in opposition to the Hindus.
HAF Managing Director Samir Kalra stated, “Seattle has taken a deadly misstep right here, institutionalising bias in opposition to all citizens of Indian and South Asian starting place, all within the identify of forestalling bias. When Seattle must be protective the civil rights of all its citizens, it’s in fact violating them via operating roughshod over essentially the most elementary and elementary rights in US legislation, all other people being handled similarly.”
HAF additional famous that Councilmember Sawant claimed caste discrimination is “rampant” in the United States. Then again, handiest Carnegie Endowment has achieved the one authoritative survey on discrimination in opposition to the Indian and South Asian communities within the nation that famous that caste-based discrimination is uncommon in the United States. The survey in particular debunked the method and findings of the doubtful organisation Equality Labs, which was once the bottom of Sawant’s solution.
Ohio State Senator items to the anti-Hindu ordinance
First Hindu and Indian State Senator of Ohio, Niraj Antani, criticised the ordinance handed via Seattle. He stated, “I condemn within the most powerful phrases the ordinance handed via the Seattle Town Council. Caste discrimination merely doesn’t exist now. Including it to their non-discrimination coverage is Hinduphobic and is a device for many who are anti-Hindu use to discriminate in opposition to Hindus in The united states, India, and all over the world. As an alternative of passing this racist coverage, Seattle must be passing insurance policies to give protection to Hindus from discrimination.”
TODAY: As the first Hindu & Indian State Senator in Ohio historical past & the youngest Hindu & Indian elected reputable within the country, I’m strongly condemning the anti-Hindu ordinance handed via @SeattleCouncil final evening. This ordinance is Hinduphobic & is a travesty for all Hindus. READ: %.twitter.com/nLkMobGptV
— Niraj Antani (@NirajAntani) February 22, 2023
The proposed modification via Kshama Sawant
Two Councilmembers, Kshama Sawant and Lisa Herbold, proposed the modification to the Town Council Act. They proposed to introduce Phase 22 in opposition to the so-called caste-based discrimination. Apparently, the proposal report obviously confirmed it was once focused at Hindus and India. Calling it a world drawback that has effects on over 250 million other people, Sawant advised that caste is “ceaselessly related to Hinduism and India”, nevertheless it “transcends non secular and geographic limitations, with caste-based discrimination appearing up in Christian, Muslim, Sikh, and different non secular communities” throughout South Asia, Southeast Asian and African communities, together with Japan, the Heart East, Nigeria, Somalia, and Senegal.
Let’s revisit this eleventh hour modification which obviously is an try to treatment the constitutional pink flags raised via @HinduAmerican.
However, now not handiest does it fails miserably. It makes issues worse.
How? By way of increasing the focused hate and hurt.
? %.twitter.com/vEoSfeRoI7
— Suhag A. Shukla (@SuhagAShukla) February 21, 2023
She claimed that the caste device “travelled” with the people from the communities from the areas discussed above to different international locations and were given embedded into the ones areas, together with america. Regardless of being debunked via the authoritative survey that debunked the method utilized by Equality Lab’s propaganda, Sawant claimed within the proposal that the “studies of caste-oppressed communities with discrimination has been rising lately”.
Apparently, the Fiscal notice of the modification skipped the usage of phrases like “Hinduism” and “India” and emphasized “South Asian Nations”. It learn, “Whilst caste is related to the South Asian area, its life can also be present in numerous non secular or ethnic teams in lots of areas, together with diaspora communities like Seattle and the encircling house. Decrease caste people and communities can endure discrimination in line with their caste id, and it’s not transparent that present protections in opposition to discrimination in line with traits like race, faith, nationwide starting place, or ancestry are enough. Those communities were traditionally marginalised in each international locations out of the country and in Seattle on account of prejudice intact in native communities. This law will permit the ones matter to discrimination at the foundation of caste a felony street to pursue a treatment in opposition to alleged discrimination.”
Focused on simply South Asians in line with a biased Equality Labs survey that the credible Carnegie Endowment panned isn’t just mistaken, it’s unethical.
Sawant falls again in this mistaken “survey” as she lacks info and proof. %.twitter.com/JUjYna2xzX
— Suhag A. Shukla (@SuhagAShukla) February 19, 2023
HAF’s Shukla, in a tweet, identified that the Council’s memo famous the caste-based legislation would price the Town $185,000 within the first yr and $100,000 annually for the implementation. Then again, the query remained intact at the choice of the caste. There was once no path on how the caste of somebody could be desperate. Will it’s assigned via somebody, self-determined or assumed? There was once no readability.
Inside @SeattleCouncil memo says that “caste” legislation will price $185,000 this yr & $100,000 annually to put in force.
However no path given as to how caste will probably be desperate—assigned or self-declared or assumed? Will Indian Hindus have to hold caste certificate?
Prison morass! %.twitter.com/xBgV3JeCg9
— Suhag A. Shukla (@SuhagAShukla) February 20, 2023
‘Biased and hateful’ – HAF debunks FAQ submitted via Kshama Sawant
In an in depth Twitter thread, HAF’s Shukla described how Sawant’s FAQ submitted to the Council was once biased and hateful, concentrated on South Asians. Particularly, Sawant admitted in her report that Seattle coverage already bans discrimination in line with nationality and ancestry. Then again, she failed to say that her proposal violated the ones insurance policies that she sought to amend via discriminating in opposition to a minority at the foundation of starting place and ancestry.
#Leaked: an inner “FAQ” that Kshama Sawant is sharing along with her @SeattleCouncil colleagues protecting her illegal caste proposal concentrated on South Asians is egregiously biased & hateful.
A truth take a look at ?@D5Juarez @Lisa_Herbold @CMSaraNelson @LewisforSeattle @SeaCityAttorney %.twitter.com/HOzvSgK38l
— Suhag A. Shukla (@SuhagAShukla) February 19, 2023
Suhag additional identified that Sawant focused South Asians in line with a biased survey via a doubtful organisation named Equality Labs. Within the FAQs, Sawant identified that the information from Equality Labs confirmed that one in 4 caste-oppressed other people cited bodily and verbal attack and one in 3 confronted schooling discrimination. She additional claimed two in 3 confronted place of job discrimination.
Then again, Carnegie Endowment for Global Peace known as out the survey on Indian American citizens via Maari Zwick-Maitreyi, Thenmozhi Soundararajan, Natasha Dar, Ralph F. Bheel, and Prathap Balakrishnan titled “Caste in america: A Survey of Caste Amongst South Asian American citizens (Equality Labs, 2018)” and stated it “depended on a nonrepresentative snowball sampling option to recruit respondents. Moreover, respondents who didn’t expose a caste id have been dropped from the information set. Subsequently, it’s most probably that the pattern does now not totally constitute the South Asian American inhabitants and may skew in favour of those that have sturdy perspectives about caste. Whilst the life of caste discrimination in India is incontrovertible, its actual extent and depth in america can also be contested.”
Equality Labs is a particularly outstanding anti-Brahmin Caste activism team in america. Recognized for its disinformation marketing campaign, Equality Labs has ceaselessly made headlines for its anti-Hindu propaganda. OpIndia has coated the organisation intimately, which can also be checked right here.
Despite the fact that it is thought of as taboo to discuss, it’s abundantly transparent from a lot of studies that the SC/ST Act in India, which is geared toward securing the rights of the marginalised communities in India, is ceaselessly misused to settle private ratings. How Seattle Town goes to be sure that the legislation is probably not used to focus on the Indian Diaspora residing peacefully within the Town to settle any private ranking is unclear.