Caste in America & the long battle behind the ecstatic shouts of Jai Bhim in Seattle

The move was supported by public intellectuals like Noam Chomsky and Cornell West.

Community members lined up outside of Seattle’s city hall to provide testimonies before the council voted on the matter | Twitter @cmkshama

On 21 February, the city of Seattle voted to add the category of Caste to its anti-discrimination laws in a historic step that will have far-reaching significance in the fight against caste discrimination.

The significance couldn’t be more immense, it may be the first-ever bill passed by any government body in the world after Ambedkar introduced Article 15 — prohibition of discrimination on grounds of caste — in the Indian Constitution, and the Nepal government passed a law banning caste-based discrimination in 2011.

As the passage was announced, the city hall erupted into ecstatic shouts of “Jai Bhim” as activists, some with Ambedkar’s photo, hugged each other in celebration.

The amendment was brought by Indian-American council member  Kshama Sawant who represents District 3 in central Seattle.

Ambedkar’s warning

Located in the western state of Washington, the Seattle metro area has a population of 3.59 million and the South Asian diaspora has been steadily growing owing to work-related immigration. The city also houses the corporate headquarters of tech giant Amazon.

A 2019 report by the advocacy group South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) puts the number of South Asians in the U.S. at 5.4 million. The 2010 census put the number at 3.5 million. With this growth, caste and caste-based discrimination have also followed.

Ambedkar who lived in the US for his graduation and PhD had warned that Caste would become a world problem as Hindus migrated to other parts of the world.

While discrimination based on caste may not be as prevalent and violent as back in south Asia, recent studies have shown that it is significant. According to a 2016 survey by Equality Labs, a US-based Dalit civil rights organisation, 60 per cent of Dalits report experiencing caste-based derogatory jokes or comments, one in three Dalit Students report being discriminated against during their education and 20 per cent of Dalit respondents report feeling discriminated against at a place of business.

For the Seattle ordinance, over 200 people signed up to offer remote testimonies but due to the time limit only 40 each, in-person and remote testimonies, were heard. An overwhelming majority urged the council members to vote Yes to ban caste discrimination.

Those appearing in person had to line up from midnight so that they could speak before the council could vote. Many Dalit, Bahujan, Sikh, Muslim, non-south Asians, and even a few upper-caste Hindus spoke in favour of banning caste discrimination.

“The fact that we had to line up from 2 am for 12 hours to give a 30 seconds testimony to ban caste discrimination states the urgency of passing this ordinance,“ said Sanket, a local Dalit activist, in his appeal to the council members.

Few speakers gave emotional testimonials of how they faced casteist slurs and social isolation once their caste was known.

At the end of the testimonials, the ordinance was passed 6-1. The lone dissenter was Sara Nelson, who argued that this would promote “colonial and racist stereotypes against Hindu communities”

Councilwoman Sawant gave a befitting response stating that it does not single out any one religion or community, but it transcends national and religious boundaries. She recalled that there was opposition to women’s and LGBTQ rights as well.

“Where would we be if had delayed those rights fearing opposition or lawsuits,” she asked.

From universities to cities

For the last few years, activists have been fighting to include caste as a category in the list of classes that are protected from discrimination as per the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The list includes race, colour, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, and genetic information (including family medical history).

In 2020, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing sued technology conglomerate Cisco for discriminating against Indian-American employee John Doe (name withheld) from the Dalit community based on ancestry or race. In 2021, a case was filed against the Hindu sect, Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) alleging that they exploited Dalit workers to build a temple in New Jersey.

Activists say that including caste as a separate protected category will help s people facing discrimination.

In the last few years, due to the increasing chorus to stop caste discrimination in the US, included caste as a protected category

1. In December 2019 Brandeis University became the first US college to include caste in its nondiscrimination policy.
2. In 2021, Colby College, the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), and Harvard University, added protections against caste discrimination in their policies.
3. In January 2022, California State University became the first and the largest university system in the country to protect caste-oppressed students from discrimination.
4. In December 2022, Brown University banned caste discrimination throughout campus, a first for Ivy League universities.
   

Next steps

Various Ambedkarite, Dalit, and human rights groups worked tirelessly to ensure the latest victory in Seattle, including campaigns, working with council member Sawant, public testimonies, and in-person presence.

The Coalition of Seattle Indian-American, Ambedkar International Center (AIC), Ambedkar Association of North America (AANA), Equality Labs, Ambedkar King Study Circle, Ambedkarite Buddhist Association of Texas (ABAT), American Muslim Empowerment Network at the Muslim Association of Puget Sound (MAPS-AMEN) and the Ravidassia community along with dozens of other organisations rallied behind Sawant’s bill which was introduced on 24 January.

Academic bodies such as UAW 4121 ( A union of 6,000 academics, students, employees and post-doctorates at the University of Washington, Seattle), ACLU of Washington, noted intellectuals like Noam Chomsky and Cornell West had also endorsed the fight to ban caste discrimination in Seattle.

“We are part of history and today is an important day for caste equity, social justice, and human rights. We thank the city of Seattle and Kshama Sawant for their advocacy on behalf of the oppressed caste,” AIC president Ram Kumar said after the victory.

AIC released a presser that their work will not stop and adding caste as a protected category in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the next step.

“We are united as a South Asian American community in our commitment to heal from Caste. First Seattle, now the nation, Jaibhim, JaiSavitri,” tweeted Thenmozhi Soundararajan of Equality Labs.

AANA’s Maya Kamble called towards corporates to heed this clarion call as well. “We hope Amazon and others headquartered in Seattle will proactively add caste in their internal protected category list as part of their global policy,” she said.

Councilwoman Sawant, who is not running for re-election, stressed the need to build a movement to spread this victory around the country.

A city now protecting caste-based discrimination will mean that even outside academics, there is a move towards the protection of the oppressed communities. Many cities and states may emulate the city of Seattle.

Ravi Shinde is an independent writer and columnist. He writes on socio-political issues and is a proponent of diversity. Views are personal.

(Edited by Theres Sudeep)