Caste in America: Mothers Like Me are Excluded From Indian Parent Networks Because I am a Dalit
- Caste has affected my life in all of the tech jobs I have had, including now at Amazon. At another company, an Indian manager even warned me not to touch one of the tools we were working on because I was “ill-fated.”
I am Maya Kamble of Ambedkar Association of North America. We are civil rights advocates from caste-oppressed Buddhist families here in the United States who strive to uplift the marginalized in India through education and health advocacy. We are one of the largest and oldest organizations in the movements for socially engaged Buddhism in India and the U.S.. Our commitment to Dhamma is very simple: We must free ourselves from the suffering of caste. Caste is the greatest suffering that communities in India have endured for thousands of years. That is why I am joining my colleagues from around the nation to work with Council Member Kshama Sawant to add caste to the city’s non-discrimination clause.
The time for us to be free of the suffering of caste is now.
As an Ambedkarite Buddhist feminist, I know how rare it is to hear a voice like mine in a public forum. Ambedkarite mothers like me are often excluded by dominant caste families from parent networks because we are Buddhist. Dominant-caste colleagues at work also excluded me when I told them I was not Hindu; they knew I was caste oppressed and from then on, they removed me from professional and social events.
Caste has affected my life in all of the tech jobs I have had, including now at Amazon. Once, at another tech company, my Indian manager pointedly ignored my suggestions in meetings and behaved as if I had never spoken. After many unsuccessful attempts to be heard, my non-Indian colleagues started to notice my exclusion and began to back me up. My manager grew increasingly frustrated and warned me not to touch one of the tools we were working on because I was “ill-fated.” I flinched because this was a direct reference to my being a woman from a Dalit caste.
I left to find another job and have enjoyed a successful career – as long as I avoid working under a dominant caste Indian manager and continue to hide my caste identity.
I left to find another job and have enjoyed a successful career – as long as I avoid working under a dominant caste Indian manager and continue to hide my caste identity.
My story is just one of the thousands. In 2016, Equality Labs surveyed the effects of caste in the US. One in four Dalits who participated in the survey said they faced physical and verbal assault due to their caste. A whopping 67 percent of Dalits surveyed reported being treated unfairly at work because of their caste. The recognition of caste as a protected category in Seattle would help ensure that caste-oppressed women in tech and at work have access to the same opportunities as everyone else.
Caste protections would help ensure that the caste oppressed are not subjected to discrimination, harassment, or violence based on their caste. Additionally, recognizing caste as a protected category would create more job security for Dalit women by making it illegal to terminate, refuse to hire, or deny a promotion to someone based on their caste. Finally, it would create a more inclusive and equitable workplace culture, which would help caste-oppressed women and other members of the lowest castes feel safe in the workplace.
Recognizing caste as a protected category would also help promote Dhamma and its teachings. Gautam Buddha questioned caste hierarchy and taught that all beings are equal, regardless of their birth, and that we should strive for a world without discrimination based on caste. This vision is why Dr. Ambedkar converted to Buddhism on October 14, 1956, along with more than 500,000 of his followers in Nagpur, India. Buddha’s meditation and his ideas of peace and compassion are helping us heal from the intergenerational traumas of caste oppression. This work can help us build the interfaith and inter-caste foundation we need to eliminate this evil once and for all once and for all.
It is my hope that Seattle will take a stand against caste discrimination and recognize caste as a protected category so that everyone can benefit from the power of Dhamma in creating a more just and equitable society.
(Representative image at the top, courtesy ourlegendaryladies.com)
Maya Kamble is an organizer, mother, and socially engaged Buddhist. A developer at Amazon she has over 20 years of experience working in American tech companies. She has committed her life to moving Ambedkar’s work to annihilate caste and works with the Ambedkar Association of North America to achieve those goals.
As a upper caste Hindu living in India, I am ok with anti caste laws even in USA. I believe this problem of casteism when compared to North India is less in South India, still less in USA. I know, there is always some risk of such laws getting misused. Still, we have no right to oppose such a progressive law looking at the reality that caste discrimination does exist.
We high caste hindu arse@@@le are the world greatest RACISTS IN THE WORLD AND FOR THE LONGEST PERIOD OF 1500 YEARS. . It has been proven beyond any doubts by genetic genealogy that every damned fair colored hindu is a descendent from northern europe , Turkey to kazakstan , ujbekingstan and all those fair colored people countries . And because of strength of number over 2000 years that they started to write about fight between rakshasas and devtas and you can see every so called deities are faired colored . ONly and only aborigines like Bheels, santhal and many bheels of south india are the original people who can be genealogically traced to the real Indians
Actually Krishna and Kali are both dark skinned so is Shiva. All three are revered so no idea what’s up with this claim that all gods are fair skinned.
Second, your claim is incorrect. Genetic evidence shows that from Kashmir to Tamil Nadu, Indian people do not have a significant level of genetic difference. I’m a biologist, this is an actual study conducted. So sorry but you’re incorrect. Caste discrimination needs to be corrected but pls don’t add faulty data to support points as it can be used against us.
The British started caste census and people got further divided and lot of migration from lower to higher castes took place in these census so much so that last census by the British was without caste.The feeling of superiority or higherness as prescribed by Manusmriti was strengthened during slavery of foreign rule.Some pseudo brahmins and writers spread more venom during last 1500 years making deep dividing lines.The vocations were termed as superior or inferior. Now is the time to do away with it or again be ready to be enslaved. Brahmins can’t protect themselves or Hinduism see what happened in Kashmir. Good brahmins need to save religion by following castelless society.
A good move that is overdue. Surprised and angry that this caste discrimination is there even in the U.S. Habits die hard I suppose.