Seattle Councilmember Kshama Sawant speaks to supporters and opponents a of a proposed ordinance so as to add caste to Seattle’s anti-discrimination legal guidelines rally at Seattle City Hall, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023.

John Froschauer/AP

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John Froschauer/AP

Seattle Councilmember Kshama Sawant speaks to supporters and opponents a of a proposed ordinance so as to add caste to Seattle’s anti-discrimination legal guidelines rally at Seattle City Hall, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023.

John Froschauer/AP

SEATTLE — The Seattle City Council on Tuesday added caste to the town’s anti-discrimination legal guidelines, turning into the primary U.S. metropolis to ban caste discrimination and the primary on this planet to go such a legislation exterior South Asia.

Calls to outlaw discrimination based mostly on caste, a division of individuals based mostly on start or descent, have grown louder amongst South Asian diaspora communities within the United States. But the motion has been getting pushback from some Hindu Americans who argue that such laws maligns a selected neighborhood.

Tensions throughout the neighborhood have been seen at Seattle City Hall on Tuesday as a loud listening to culminated with a 6-1 vote with a majority of the council agreeing that caste discrimination crosses nationwide and non secular boundaries and that with out such legal guidelines, these dealing with caste discrimination within the U.S. could have no protections.

The packed room, which overflowed with activists from each side bearing banners, chanting slogans, difficult audio system and metropolis officers as they made their feedback, laid naked stark divisions over this subject throughout the South Asian diaspora. A majority of these current in council chambers have been supporters of the ordinance and people opposed have been a vocal minority.

As council members voted in favor of the ordinance, the chamber erupted into cheers of “Jai Bhim,” which suggests “victory for Bhim” a rallying cry adopted by followers of B.R. Ambedkar, an Indian Dalit rights icon whose given identify was Bhimrao. Dalit teams and their supporters say caste discrimination is prevalent in U.S. diaspora communities, manifesting itself within the type of social alienation and discrimination in housing, schooling and the tech sector the place South Asians maintain key roles.

Yogesh Mane, a Seattle resident who grew up as an untouchable in India, broke into tears as he heard the council’s choice.

“I’m emotional because this is the first time such an ordinance has been passed anywhere in the world outside of South Asia,” he mentioned. “It’s a historic moment.”

Thenmozhi Soundararajan, govt director of Oakland, California-based Equality Labs, whose advocacy work together with neighborhood companions continues to push caste discrimination legal guidelines ahead, referred to as the council vote “a culture war that has been won.”

“We got the support of over 200 organizations from Seattle and around the country,” she mentioned. “It’s a powerful message that Dalit people are not alone. The South Asian community has united to say we want to heal from the trauma of caste.”

Council Member Kshama Sawant, a socialist and the one Indian American on the City Council, mentioned the ordinance, which she proposed, doesn’t single out one neighborhood, however it accounts for a way caste discrimination crosses nationwide and non secular boundaries. Sawant mentioned the council acquired over 4,000 emails in assist of the ordinance.

“We’ve heard hundreds of gut-wrenching stories over the last few weeks showing us that caste discrimination is very real in Seattle,” she mentioned.

Council Member Sara Nelson who solid the lone dissenting vote agreed with opponents calling the ordinance “a reckless, harmful solution to a problem for which we have no data or research.”

“This could generate more anti-Hindu discrimination and could dissuade employers from hiring South Asians,” she mentioned. “The community that is being impacted is deeply divided on this issue.”

Nelson additionally mentioned the ordinance would additionally get the town entangled in authorized battles to which Sawant responded: “Bring it on.” Sawant mentioned being frightened of lawsuits isn’t the way in which to impact progress or change.

Council Member Lisa Herbold questioned opponents’ logic that the legislation singles out Hindus and other people of Indian descent.

“That’s like saying gender discrimination laws single out all men,” she mentioned. “And just because we have a small population that is experiencing (caste discrimination) that doesn’t make it any less important.”

Shobha Swamy, a consultant of the Coalition of Hindus of North America mentioned she was dissatisfied by the council deliberations and line of questioning. The group mentioned they acquired a present of assist from over 100 organizations.

“Due diligence wasn’t done,” mentioned Swami, who flew in from Atlanta.

C.H. Srikrishna, a San Francisco Bay Area-based tech employee, mentioned he’s apprehensive concerning the ramifications this ordinance may need for the South Asian neighborhood.

“I too want discrimination to end,” he mentioned. “But we need to first determine that widespread discrimination exists.”

Srikrishna, who’s Hindu, believes the ordinance does goal his faith.

“When you say it originated 2,000 years ago, that is implicitly blaming Hinduism,” he mentioned. “That bothers me. I feel betrayed.”

Sanjay Patel, a tech firm proprietor from the Seattle space, mentioned he by no means felt discriminated in opposition to within the U.S. as a member of a decrease caste and that the ordinance pained him as a result of it reminded him of a caste identification, which he thought had turn out to be out of date.

“I fear with this law, businesses will be afraid to hire South Asians,” he mentioned.

Earlier Tuesday morning, a number of activists braved chilly temperatures and wind gusts to line up exterior City Hall so they’d get an opportunity to talk to the council earlier than the vote. But the council restricted public remark on the assembly the place greater than 300 folks had requested to talk just about and in individual. They heard about half of the feedback earlier than transferring on to deliberations and the vote.

The origins of the caste system in India might be traced again 3,000 years as a social hierarchy based mostly on one’s occupation and start. It is a system that has advanced over the centuries below Muslim and British rule. The struggling of those that are on the backside of the caste pyramid — often called Dalits — has continued. Caste discrimination has been prohibited in India since 1948, a 12 months after the nation’s independence from British rule.

The U.S. is the second hottest vacation spot for Indians residing overseas, in response to the Migration Policy Institute, which estimates the U.S. diaspora grew from about 206,000 in 1980 to about 2.7 million in 2021. The group South Asian Americans Leading Together stories that almost 5.4 million South Asians stay within the U.S. — up from the three.5 million counted within the 2010 census. Most hint their roots to Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Over the previous three years, a number of schools and college techniques have moved to ban caste discrimination.

In December 2019, Brandeis University close to Boston turned the primary U.S. school to incorporate caste in its nondiscrimination coverage. The California State University System, Colby College, Brown University and the University of California, Davis have all adopted comparable measures. Harvard University instituted caste protections for scholar staff in 2021 as a part of its contract with its graduate scholar union.