SEATLE: Seattle has become the very first city in the United States to prohibit caste discrimination, following the city boards choice to add caste to the citys anti-discrimination laws.

The relocation comes after growing calls from South Asian diaspora neighborhoods to disallow discrimination based upon caste.However, some Hindu Americans are pushing back against the movement, arguing that such legislation unfairly maligns their neighborhood.

The regulation, which passed with a 6-1 vote, is a contentious problem amongst the nations South Asian diaspora.Activists on both sides of the issue turned up to speak at the City Council meeting, but public comment was limited.

Council Member Kshama Sawant, the only Indian-American on the City Council, stated the regulation does not single out one neighborhood, but it acknowledges how caste discrimination crosses nationwide and religious boundaries.

Caste discrimination doesnt just happen in other countries.

It is dealt with by South Asian American and other immigrant working individuals in their workplaces, consisting of in the tech sector, in Seattle and in cities around the country, Sawant stated when her office introduced the proposal to prohibit caste-based discrimination in Seattle.The US is the 2nd most popular destination for Indians living abroad, according to the Migration Policy Institute, which approximates the United States diaspora grew from about 206,000 in 1980 to about 2.7 million in 2021.

Over the past three years, numerous colleges and university systems have moved to restrict caste discrimination, consisting of Brandeis University, the California State University System, Colby College, Brown University, and the University of California, Davis.Harvard University also set up caste securities for trainee employees in 2021 as part of its contract with its college student union.(With inputs from agencies)