ON Tuesday, February 21, 2023, Seattle grew to become the primary US metropolis to ban caste discrimination.
Although Seattle is the primary metropolis to implement the ban, they are not the primary to ban caste discrimination throughout the US.
What's caste discrimination?
Caste discrimination refers back to the division of society based mostly on hereditary class, notably within the Hindu and Indian communities.
The caste system in India traces again over 3,000 years in the past and has developed underneath Muslim and British rule.
In 1948, caste discrimination was prohibited in India following its independence from British rule.
Nevertheless, Dalits, who're thought-about on the backside of the caste pyramid, nonetheless undergo from this technique.
The caste pyramid is constructed of 5 totally different hereditary lessons.
The Brahmins sit on the prime of the pyramid for monks and academics adopted by the Kshatriyas who characterize warriors and rulers.
Third are the Vaishyas who're farmers, merchants, and retailers.
The final two lessons are the Shudras who characterize laborers and Dalits, also referred to as outcastes, who characterize avenue sweepers and plumbers.
Why did Seattle ban it?
On Tuesday, February 21, 2023, the Seattle Metropolis Council voted in favor of banning caste discrimination inside its metropolis.
Councilwoman Kshama Sawant proposed this ban and clarified that this is not meant to single out one group however to make a change throughout nations.
Sawant mentioned the battle "is deeply linked to the battle in opposition to all types of oppression.
"Caste discrimination would not solely happen in different nations. It's confronted by South Asian American and different immigrant working folks of their workplaces, together with the tech sector, in Seattle and in cities across the nation."
Councilwoman Sawant is the one Indian American on the Metropolis Council.
Previous to the assembly, greater than 100 folks requested to talk to the Metropolis Council on the problem earlier than the vote.
Are different U.S. cities working in direction of banning caste discrimination?
Seattle will be the first metropolis to undertake the banning of caste discrimination but it surely is not the primary to take motion.
Campus throughout US universities have been including bans on caste discrimination all through their tolerance insurance policies.
In December 2019, Brandeis College as a result of the primary US college to incorporate caste in its coverage for nondiscrimination.
The College of California, Brown College, Colby School, and The California State College System had been a number of who've adopted caste discrimination inside their campuses.
In 2021, Harvard College included caste protections as a part of its contract for pupil employees.
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