California Governor Vetoes Bill To Ban Caste-Based Discrimination

The bill, which is supported by many Ambedkarite and anti-caste groups, was authored by State Senator Aisha Wahab.

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Sunday, 8 October, vetoed the SB 403 bill that outlaws caste-based discrimination in the state.

(Photo: Facebook/California Governor)

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Sunday, 8 October, vetoed the SB 403 bill that outlaws caste-based discrimination in the state.

This comes as a setback after a revised version of the bill was passed in the state assembly and the senate in August and September, respectively.

The revised bill, lists casts under "ancestry", reported Reuters.

"California already prohibits discrimination based on sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, and other characteristics, and state law specifies that these civil rights protections shall be liberally construed. Because discrimination based on caste is already prohibited under these existing categories, this bill is unnecessary," a letter from Governor's office said.

The bill, which is supported by many Ambedkarite and anti-caste groups, was authored by California State Senator Aisha Wahab.

"We want to ensure organisations and companies do not entrench caste discrimination in their practices or policies, and in order to do that we need to make it plainly clear that discrimination based on caste is against the law," Wahab had said earlier this year.

There have been several reports of caste based discrimination in California, home to many technology giants, which has a sizeable South Asian population.