California Student Body Demands Addition of Caste in Universities’ Anti-discriminatory Policy

A California student body has urged two universities in the state — California Polytechnic and the California State University — to include the Indian caste system in their anti-discriminatory policy. The demand was made in a resolution adopted on March 3 by Associated Students, Inc, the student body of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

“Caste is a structure of oppression that affects over one billion people across the world based on birth that determines social status and assigns “spiritual purity,” the resolution says. “There are four main caste groups: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras,” it notes, and adds: “Those outside the caste system entirely, with lower caste Shudras and those outside the caste system, known as Dalits meaning “broken but resilient” and formerly known as “untouchables.”

In India, Dalits, who have traditionally been considered untouchables, account for about 16.6 percent of the population, according to the 2011 Census figures. But published data about their socio-economic condition indicate a very sorry state of the community. Dalits’ control over the resources, for example, is less than 5 percent, and close to half of the population lives under the poverty line, and 62 percent are illiterate. A substantial number among its lowest sub-castes clean toilets and human excreta with bare hands while others are engaged in agricultural work, are landless or nearly landless laborers.

The caste-based prejudice doesn’t seem to evade those who have immigrated to the U.S. either. A 2017 report conducted by Equality Labs, a civil rights group, revealed that 67 percent of Dalit Americans felt they were treated unfairly at their workplaces. The report, ‘Caste in the United States — A Survey Of Caste Among South Asian Americans,’ showed the prevalence of caste discrimination, not just in the workplace, but on campuses as well. It revealed that one in four Dalits experienced physical assaults, two out three, work place discrimination, and one in three, discrimination in education.

Noting that “caste-oppressed groups continue to experience profound injustices including socioeconomic inequalities, usurpation of their land, rights, and experience brutal violence at the hands of the “upper” castes,” the resolution also cites data from the Equality Labs survey. The survey reveals that about 40 percent of Dalit students report facing discrimination in educational institutions in the diaspora, while by contrast, only as much as 3 percent of respondents who were “upper” caste reported the same.

The report also noted that within the context of mainstream American society, South Asian Americans are often racialized as “brown.” It said that most assume that all are “Indian” and “Hindu”— terms that assume not only Indian national origin, but reduce South Asian-American immigrants to only those practicing the Hindu faith.“This simplifies the rich diversity of our community, homogenizing South Asian American immigrants …” the report said. The Equality Labs report was authored byDalit American activist Thenmozhi Soundararajan, executive director of Equality Labs, and Maari Zwick-Maitreyi, a Dalit community activist and Equality Labs’ research director.

In an earlier interview with American Kahani about discrimination in work place, Soundararajan had noted that “tech is not a neutral place when it comes to caste.” She called it a reminder that “the power of dominant caste networks in tech departments has created hostile workplaces and uneven outcomes for Dalits who enter these discriminatory workplaces.”

The resolution talks about how “caste discrimination has long been overlooked by American institutions, with almost all institutions in the U.S. failing to protect caste oppressed people.”

The resolution talks about how “caste discrimination has long been overlooked by American institutions, with almost all institutions in the U.S. failing to protect caste oppressed people.” It further notes that “Cal Poly has a large and growing body of international students, specifically from South Asia, making caste a global issue that impacts sites of higher education.”

A March 2019 report in India Abroad on social exclusions of Dalits in U.S. colleges noted how caste discrimination against Dalits and other lower castes has found its way to college or university campuses as well. Through anecdotal experiences Dalit students from Brandeis University, a private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, and at UMass at Boston shared then, it was evident that Dalit students faced discrimination in institutions with large population of South Asians students. They confessed that most non-Dalit students, including Indians born and raised in the U.S., have vague and sometimes erroneous ideas about the life of Dalits in India. 

As per the resolution, “the addition of caste within the anti-discrimination policy will make Cal Poly and the larger CSU’s in compliance with the recommendations of Equality Labs, an international human rights organization,” and “will reaffirm and add to Cal Poly and the larger CSU’s commitment to diversity, equity and support for those most systemically marginalized.”

The resolution names “other leading universities such as Brandeis University, have already recognized the importance of adding caste to its anti- discrimination policy, understanding that caste identity is so intertwined with many of the legally recognized and protected characteristics, discrimination based on a person’s caste is effectively the same.”

In 2019 December, Brandeis University became one of the first higher education institutions in America to add caste to its nondiscrimination policy. “Discrimination based on caste will now be expressly prohibited at our university, just as discrimination based on race, color, ancestry, religious creed, gender identity and expression, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, age, genetic information, disability, military or veteran status, or any other category protected by law is prohibited,” read a statement from the university. 

Mark Brimhall-Vargas, the university’s chief diversity officer, told India Abroad at the time that the decision was not made because of any specific incidents of caste discrimination on campus. He said university administrators heard from students and faculty members of South Asian descent that caste distinctions were present. “We had an awareness that this was an issue that impacted our campus and that the current policy addressing discrimination wasn’t prepared to address caste,” he said. “It’s simply the right thing to do,” he said, adding that Brandeis was being proactive by addressing the issue of caste discrimination before it became a problem on the campus.

Equality Labs hailed the resolution on its social media handles. “On American campuses, caste is used to shame, disregard, and exclude students from campus life and prevent their professional advancement,” said a post on its Facebook page. “This week, thanks to the stunning efforts of an intercaste, interfaith solidarity coalition, caste became a protected category against discrimination in all 23 California status university campuses.”

April is observed as Dalit History Month which is dedicated to the community’s effort to reclaim its identity and celebrate its history. Modeled on Black History Month, which takes place in February, the Dalit History Month is a worldwide collective participatory project that aims to grow and spread the documentation of Dalit history, art and culture. April is selected for being the birth month of B.R. Ambedkar.