The California State Senate in the US recently passed legislation (SB-403) that would ban caste-based discrimination in the State. A similar measure is being submitted in the State House of Representatives, according to the bill’s supporters, who are led by the nonprofit Equality Lab. This is necessary before the governor can sign the bill into law.
The Unruh Civil Rights Act, which states that everyone in the state of California is entitled to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, or services in all business establishments, is amended by SB 403, which was introduced by California Senator Aisha Wahab, to include caste as a protected category.
As per the reports, those who have suffered systematic injury as a result of caste bias and prejudice are explicitly protected under SB 403’s provisions. Additionally, it establishes clear legal repercussions for anyone who tries to escape accountability or responsibilities for condoning or taking part in caste-based violence.
However, the understanding of caste by Americans is biased and firmly associated with Hinduism and India. While the proponents of the legislation believe that caste does not automatically mean India and that it is found across multiple religions and not just Hinduism, the opponents tend to believe that caste is associated with Hinduism due to the popular narrative.
A recent survey conducted by the Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) in March 2023, which is based on a YouGov US national sample of 1,500 responses, provides utter clarity on the American understanding of caste. The survey revealed that Americans claiming caste exists across geographies from Japan to South America is a misdirection and that they firmly believe that caste is clearly associated with India and therefore Hinduism.
The survey also noted that only 8 per cent of those surveyed have first-hand knowledge of the caste system. It is not as prevalent as is suggested. Even for those who claim to have in-depth knowledge of caste, it is impossible for them to differentiate between castes based on last names or other traits. The vast majority of those polled stated that they first learnt about caste through their social studies textbooks in middle and high school.
Few people are aware that India has 25,000 sub-castes in addition to thousands of castes. In India, there are an astounding 4.6 Million castes, subcastes, and clans according to the socioeconomic census conducted in 2011! A resounding majority of those who do have an opinion on the subject hold that there are just four castes. Caste is taught in American schools in a manner that is congruent with this.
According to the Equality Labs Caste Report (p.44), a person’s last name is frequently the best indication of their caste origin. However, the survey revealed that nine out of ten respondents indicated they had no idea how to identify one’s caste from his/her surname.
A combination of apparently “Dalit” or “Upper Caste” names in the study included a number of popular Indian names. The first notion was that the typical American would not be able to distinguish between “Dalit” and “Upper Caste” last names. It is evident that caste is connected to India and Hinduism, at least in the thoughts of a statistically significant cross-section of Americans, but attempting to pinpoint a caste based on last name is no more accurate than a wild guess.
And this is a scathing refutation of the myth that one can readily discern “caste” based on characteristics like last name, eating habits, skin tone, etc.
Most people in America either have a basic understanding of the system based on what they have read or heard or don’t think it’s significant. Only the Millennial and Gen-Z groups share information based on personal experience in any appreciable quantity. This is not caste-based prejudice; it is only a knowledge of the concept, the survey noted.
The poll further looked at where most Americans get their information on the caste system from. The survey revealed that more than half of respondents from all generations had been exposed to the caste system by the time they completed high school. More people would have first encountered caste talks in their employment if caste conversations were as common in the workplace or on college campuses as is stated.
Also, the Americans have very little knowledge about the total number of castes in existence. As per the survey, majority of them claimed that they were unsure about the number while the others said that there are only four castes. Very few agreed to believe that there are more than 2000 castes existent in the world.
According to some estimates, there are thousands of castes and more than 25,000 ‘sub-castes’; however, the 2011 socioeconomic census of India found that there are an astounding 4.6 million castes, sub-castes, clans, etc.
Before hastily passing legislation forbidding it and attributing the (mythical) prejudice on Hindus from India who reside in America, a more thorough, statistically sound research of the real prevalence of caste-based systems of discrimination in America is necessary. It is also immoral to pass laws and regulations based on false or unreliable information since doing so might result in the targeting and profiling of Hindu Americans and other small-scale minorities, as well as civil rights violations. “Specious arguments that caste laws do not target Hindus or people of Indian origin are rejected with the results of this statistically valid survey,” report by Coalition of Hindus of North America stated.
