Gavin Newsom vetoes bill to make California first state to end caste-based discrimination

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Saturday that he has vetoed a bill that would have outlawed discrimination on the basis of caste, calling it an unnecessary addition to the state’s civil rights laws.

Caste is a hierarchical system of social status based on one’s ancestry. There have been several cases of caste discrimination, in California, particularly in the tech world and academia. Senate Bill 403, sponsored by freshman Sen. Aisha Wahab, D- Hayward, would have added caste to the state’s anti-discrimination laws.

In a veto message, Newsom said California already prohibits discrimination based on sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, and other characteristics, and that 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,” Newsom said.

Wahab introduced SB 403 in February and it passed through Senate Judiciary and Appropriations committees — and both houses of the legislature — with broad, bipartisan support. But it was also met with intense backlash from Hindu Americans, some, critics charge, with ties to the Hindu nationalist movement in India that seeks to exclude Muslims, Buddhists and other religious groups from power. Some Democrats and Republicans in the legislature also opposed the measure.

The bill’s final form was significantly changed from its original one; namely, it was written to end “discrimination on the basis of ancestry,” with “caste” included as an aspect of ancestry.

The bill’s dissenters said that it would have led to reverse racism against members of the Hindu community, and that caste-based discrimination is simply not a big enough issue in California to warrant its own protected class designation. Wahab ultimately removed background information on South Asia and the caste system from the bill to appease such critiques.

Wahab, the first Muslim woman elected to the California Senate and the first Afghan-American woman elected to public office in the U.S. ,faced a torrent of death threats, Islamophobic insults, and harassment aimed not just at her, but her staff as well. A recall effort was organized by Republicans and many Hindu Americans who opposed the bill.

“Caste is a civil, racial, gender, workers, and human rights issue,” Wahab said in April. “This bill does not target any specific community, religion, nor does it create more harm. It simply protects people from discrimination and allows people to know they are protected under California law.”

Members of her own party, Assemblymen Alex Lee and Evan Low of the Asian American Pacific Islander Caucus, requested the Assembly Judiciary Committee sideline caste as a subcategory of ancestry, or hold off voting to study the issue further. Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones and Republican Sen. Shannon Grove wrote to Newsom on Oct. 3 encouraging him to veto the bill.

Supporters of the bill went on hunger strike in early September until Newsom signed the bill.