DDuring his recent visit to the US, Rahul Gandhi talked about “pathetic conditionDalits in India. Even in America, the community of lower castes has faced discrimination. In 2021, a prominent Hindu temple in New Jersey was raided by the FBI. BAPS, the Hindu sect that operates the temple, faced federal charges for luring hundreds of lower-caste workers from India and exploiting them to work in dangerous conditions for temple construction for low pay.
Delivering his famous speech at the Bombay Presidency Mahar Conference in 1936, BR Ambedkar highlighted the importance of law in transforming equality, which otherwise “may be a fiction”, into governing principles. That’s exactly what United States anti-discrimination law tries to embody.
However, the problem arises when the law perpetuates discrimination based on who receives equal treatment and who does not, which essentially takes us back to square one – “legislating” such discrimination. as criminals. That’s exactly what happened with US anti-discrimination laws when California’s employment regulators brought a case against Cisco Systems. Two engineers of a tech company were accused of discriminating against a Dalit employee, but the case was not shocking rejectedHighlighted the non-inclusive nature of anti-discrimination laws in the US.
Exploitation by BAPS or the case against Cisco engineers is not a 21st century phenomenon. Many such examples of explicit racial discrimination in the US date back a long time. 1910 And such discrimination is still not really preserved in the country. “Doe v. Cisco Systems Inc.” is accompanied by a series of recent cases such as “John Doe v. Princeton Universityand “Chandana v. Carnegie Mellon University”, which exposed not only individual but also an institutional form of discrimination against those left out of the “protected class”. In all these cases, the authorities did not act against the blatant discrimination allegedly due to lack of inclusiveness in anti-discrimination laws.
Therefore, in a historic move, the State Senate of California passed a Bill With a 34-1 vote last month to add ‘race’ as a protected category under US anti-discrimination laws. The bill, which has been pending for a long time, sends a loud message for inclusive anti-discrimination laws and equality for all.
common struggle for equality
The passage of this law comes at a time when civil rights of marginalized communities remain a serious global issue. Around the world, people of various backgrounds are fighting against their exclusion from anti-discrimination and harassment laws. Countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia and India have seen transformative changes through equality legislation reforms. India’s Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the UK’s Criminal Justice and Immigration Act have shown the power of an inclusive approach in strengthening the fight for equality.
In addition, the UK has, from time to time, emphasized the need for inclusive amendments to its laws, such as “Tirkey v. Chandok” on caste discrimination and “Mandla v. Dowell-Lee” on equality law. It is noteworthy that America is now leading this movement for equality abroad. In addition to the near-majority passage of SB-403 by California’s Senate, the Seattle City Council also passed an ordinance banning racial discrimination.
As we move forward, it is essential that we recognize the importance of equality for all, not only for social but also for economic and legal welfare, towards creating a more equitable society. Seattle and California mark an important milestone that serves as a reminder of the continuing struggle for equality, the fight not only for race-based discrimination but against gender, sex, race, linguistics, and all other forms that pervade our society. affects. It is indeed an inspiration and a role model for others to follow.
The writer is president of Foundation for Human Horizon, an NGO affiliated with the United Nations
Leading the Anti-Racist Legislation Movement and an Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the United States
Research Scholar, John Hopkins University.