EVANSTON, Ill. (Diya TV) — Northwestern University has joined the growing list of U.S. institutions adding caste discrimination to its non-discrimination policy.
The move has been hailed by SACRED, an advocacy group for caste equity, saying it was a “major victory for caste justice.”
The university becomes part of the list of institutions that have added caste to their discrimination policy, including Harvard University, Brandeis University, and the California State University system. Global companies like Apple have also implemented caste protection in the workplace policies.
Northwestern’s move falls in line with a wider pattern within the Midwest. The University of Michigan and the University of Minnesota have already included caste in their policies. Illinois, home to 337,000 South Asian Americans according to the 2020 census, has seen growing calls from activists claiming caste equity is needed in the burgeoning and diverse South Asian community, which constitutes 42% of the state’s Asian American population.
The Pew Research Center reported that Chicago is the second-largest metropolitan area in which Indian Americans reside in the U.S. However, while there is an abundance of Indian Americans here, caste equity advocates say there’s an omission in local legal services to address caste bias. SACRED is pressing for resources dedicated to support those experiencing caste-based discrimination.
In a statement, Northwestern says the measure is to ensure a safe and inclusive environment for all.
Last year, this battle came to a head in California, when Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed controversial caste bill SB 403 that was passed by the Democratically-controlled California legislature and endorsed by his party. Newsom told Diya TV exclusively that caste was already covered by existing discrimination laws and that “the law was unnecessary.”
Many in the South Asian diaspora told the Governor there was no data to substantiate such a law and that the initiative was being weaponized to target Indian and Hindu Americans, who are the most affluent and educated demographic in the United States.
Political analysts also tell Diya TV the ramifications of SB 403 were far reaching, impacting the candidacy nationally of the first Indian American Presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris. In a conversation with Indian American swing voters ahead of the election, the caste bill was brought up as an explicit reason why Harris, a Democrat, did not receive automatic support from the community.
