New Delhi: California’s legislature has passed Senate Bill (SB) 403, which seeks to add caste among the categories officially protected from discrimination in the state.The California Assembly, the state legislature’s lower house, passed the Bill by a 55-3 majority on Monday (August 28). The Senate (the upper house) had passed it by a 34-1 majority in May.Civil rights activist Thenmozhi Soundararajan, who is from the Dalit community, celebrated the Bill’s passage, calling it a “win for the ages”.“The assembly vote is a win for the ages. After conducting over 700 advocacy meetings across the entire state of California, the people have spoken resoundingly for caste equity protections. As a Californian who has endured caste my whole life, I know the struggles and adversity caste-oppressed Californians have unjustly faced first-hand,” the Associated Press quoted her as saying.Soundararajan is a founder of Equality Labs, an Ambedkarite organisation that was at the forefront of civil society groups supporting the Bill.The Ambedkar Association of North America (AANA) said in a press release that the assembly’s vote “will be remembered for generations”.“Caste discrimination, a deeply entrenched issue impacting countless lives, finds itself squarely addressed in SB 403. The Bill introduces comprehensive measures to counter discrimination across sectors such as education, employment, housing and public services,” it said.Supporters come out to celebrate. pic.twitter.com/qmIcDKbYw9— Sameea Kamal (@SameeaKamal) August 28, 2023Lawmaker Aisha Wahab, who introduced the Bill in the California Senate in February this year, thanked members of the Assembly for voting in favour of SB 403 in a press release, the Sacramento Bee reported.But not everyone is happy about the Bill’s passage.Various diaspora groups have opposed SB 403, arguing that it will single out and encourage bias against Hindus and people of Indian descent.One such group, the Coalition of Hindus of North America, called the Bill “unjust” and said the day of its passage was a “black day” in California’s history.“The passing of a bill which is NOT facially neutral and written to specifically target Hindu Americans is the latest in a long line of unjust Bills, (such as the Asian Exclusion Act), which were popular at the time of their passing and were used to target minorities of colour,” it said, and thanked California legislators who voted against the Bill or abstained from voting.As SB 403 was amended by the California Assembly, it will head back to the Senate for a re-vote, the Sacramento Bee reported. It will then need assent from the state governor in order to become law.If it does, California will be the first US state to outlaw caste discrimination.In February this year, Seattle became the first jurisdiction outside of South Asia that made caste discrimination illegal. Some US universities have also drafted anti-caste discrimination policies.