‘CISCO Case Tip of Iceberg’: US-based Dalits Worry over Export of Indian Caste System
A person passes underneath a Cisco brand on the Cellular Global Congress in Barcelona, Spain. (Reuters)
California regulators have sued Cisco Techniques Inc, accusing it of discriminating in opposition to an Indian-American worker and permitting him to be burdened by means of two managers as a result of he was once from a decrease Indian caste than them.
- News18.com New Delhi
- Ultimate Up to date: July 2, 2020, eight:42 PM IST
US-based outfit Ambedkar Global Centre (AIC) has written to the California Division of Honest Employment and Housing (DFEH) announcing that a case, by which Cisco Techniques Inc is accused of discriminating in opposition to an Indian-American worker and permitting him to be burdened by means of two managers as a result of he was once from a decrease Indian caste, is simply “a tip of the iceberg”.
The outfit, in a verbal exchange to Director Kevin Kish, has given ideas on insulate the machine from additional incidents of caste-based discrimination as the proportion of Dalits is lesser than upper-caste Hindus who migrate to america for jobs.
A lawsuit was filed by means of California’s Division of Honest Employment and Housing in a federal court docket in San Jose on Tuesday in opposition to Cisco Techniques Inc for allegedly working towards “discrimination, harassment, and retaliation” in opposition to an Indian-American worker at the foundation of his caste.
“The Complainant was once anticipated to simply accept a caste hierarchy throughout the place of job the place he held the bottom standing inside of a workforce of higher-caste colleagues, receiving much less pay, fewer alternatives, and different inferior phrases and prerequisites of employment as a result of his faith, ancestry, nationwide starting place/ethnicity, and race/color,” it mentioned.
“Many present factions of Ambedkarite teams can jointly lift their issues right here and keep united. The AIC will function a venue for social exchange projects, conferences, meetings, celebrations and the propagation of Ambedkar’s philosophy all over america,” mentioned the AIC internet web page after criminal intervention.
AIC’s letter
The board contributors really feel the case “has paved a option to convey the plight of hundreds of migrated underprivileged Indians (officially known as untouchables) to the vanguard. Hovering at the hope of equality, which they by no means had in their very own motherland because of the Hindu caste machine adopted and dominated by means of quasi-fascist govt”.
Presenting details to DFEH officers, AIC contributors mentioned a heinous crime is dedicated in opposition to an untouchable individual each 15 mins in India. “After surviving via psychological and bodily agony, not up to 2% untouchables upward push to stage to get a possibility to return to america. Those 2% migrant Indians are very proficient, hardworking and sharp techies, majorly from the highest establishments of India.”
“Even after coming to US, they’ve been proceeding to reside in psychological and emotional worry as many as the remainder 98% migrated Indians are privileged caste-ist Hindus who’ve began caste discrimination right here,” mentioned the observation. “The Dalits who’ve entered the organised tech sector in recent years by means of sheer grit and skill are despised by means of those privileged Hindu caste other people, making each try to bog down the expansion of Dalits and set them up for failure.”
Providing ideas and unity to the sufferer, the contributors wrote, “We, the contributors of the Dr Ambedkar Global Middle, an untouchables organisation in america stand in unity with the sufferer and the State of California for taking on the case. We want to be offering information, actual tales, compelling arguments, testimonies to penalise such caste-discrimination. We request a Congressional listening to be carried out to search out tactics to curb the malice of Hindu casteism right here in america.”
The board contributors have prompt California “to mandate america company so as to add caste at the side of color into their equivalent alternative hiring insurance policies and put in force it in all in their places of work. This step will cross some distance in bringing equality in america, India, somewhere else”.
‘Ambedkar predicted export of caste discrimination to overseas land’
On Would possibly nine, 1916, when presenting a paper at an Anthropology Seminar at Columbia College, Babasaheb Ambedkar aptly foresaw the issue of taking caste prejudice to overseas lands.
References in Castes In India – Their Mechanism, Genesis and Building, he mentioned: “The caste downside is an infinite one, each theoretically and almost. Almost, it’s an establishment that portends super penalties. This is a native downside, however one in a position to a lot wider mischief, for so long as caste in India does exist, Hindus will infrequently intermarry or have any social sex with outsiders; and if Hindus migrate to different areas on earth, Indian caste would develop into a global downside.”
AIC member Anil Wagde, an alumnus of IIM Calcutta and dealing in an IT company in america, recalled the above traces and mentioned, “As he predicted, Hindus have certainly exported caste outdoor of India. Whilst they’re the beneficiaries of the variety insurance policies of america, they vehemently oppose each try to diversify Indian campuses. The college in IITs and IIMs is predominantly of privileged castes.”
“In India, casteism is all pervasive however refined. This can be very tough to turn out casteism particularly in Indian courts. We’re extremely joyful that US has understood the discrimination and is taking on the cudgel on behalf of the sufferer. We want to teach america coverage makers of the malice and deprivation that Dalits undergo again in India,” he added.
