Indian-Americans claim there is state-level targeting using the law as an oppressive method to profile immigrant populations.
Posted on – Fri 21 Jul 23 01:46pm
Washington: Attendees at the inaugural CastCon claimed that recent U.S. legislative moves against caste discrimination were designed to victimize and demoralize the growing Indian-American community.
CasteCon, held in Fremont, Calif., on Sunday, draws Indian-Americans from Silicon Valley and its surrounding areas and other parts of the United States. Participants talked about some legislative initiatives in California and other parts of the United States.
Participants claimed that there were state-level targets using the law as an oppressive method to profile immigrant populations.
Organizers say the central goal of CasteCon 2023 is to stop the caste system from entering American society. The caste system is a corrosive social structure that originated during the British colonial days in India.
A media release said the move was not only deemed unnecessary and redundant, but had the potential to undermine community cohesion and adversely affect unsuspecting future generations.
According to organizers, a local elected official said Indian-Americans appeared to be wealthy, successful and powerful drivers of the Silicon Valley economy, and it was a revelation to learn that the community had silently endured and struggled with the undercurrent of its colonial legacy.
Their colonial history is similar to that of Native Americans and African Americans. SB 403, passed by the California Senate to ban caste-based discrimination in the state, appears to heal the wounds of the expatriate population.
Satish K Sharma, a Hindu leader from the United Kingdom, said: “I am saddened to witness the contempt that Hindus are treated in California today simply because they are Hindus and are ‘seemed’ as oppressors for absolutely no reason.”
“As a California Democrat, a congressional candidate from Silicon Valley, a multi-time former Cal Democrat executive committee member, and twice elected to the Saratoga City Council, I oppose Sacramento’s Caste Bill SB 403,” said Rishi Kumar from California. And decline. Californians deserve principled leadership, not business-as-usual politics or superfluous bills that stoke hate,” Kumar said.
Successful Indian-American entrepreneur Sunder Iyer, an acquitted defendant in Cisco’s caste discrimination case, said in his first public appearance that he was accused of being anti-Dalit and dragged into the lawsuit through no fault of his own.
“I donated 100% of my entire CEO stake in Cisco Startup to all my employees, including John Doe (Anonymous Dalit Plaintiff).
Iyer and his colleague Kompella filed a motion in January 2023 to sanction CRD for bringing a case without merit in law or fact.
The CRD withdrew its case against Iyer and Kompella in April 2023. Participants said Californians had serious concerns about CRD’s actions in the Cisco case as the facts became public.
More recently, the grassroots organization Justice for California demanded an explanation for CRD’s repeated racist and xenophobic remarks against Indian-Americans over the years in the Cisco case.
Even Silicon Valley native Senator Josh Becker tweeted his serious concerns about CRD’s behavior last month.
“To this day, there has been no public acknowledgment or response from CRD,” CasteCon said in a statement.
