How India’s Caste Discrimination Made it to the USA

FEATURING THENMOZHI SOUNDARARAJAN – The state of California this month launched an anti-discrimination lawsuit that might be the first of its kind in the US. Aimed at the tech company Cisco Systems, the lawsuit accuses the firm of caste-discrimination among its Indian employees. While India’s caste system is rarely visible in the US, in truth the majority of Indians emigrating are among the highest castes in their home country.

Highlighting how caste is in fact an American issue is the new popular Netflix show Indian Matchmaking, that features several Indian Americans households looking for suitors for their adult children that preserves caste and class, aspires for lighter skin and a preservation of patriarchy.

Read Thenmozhi’s recent op-ed in the Washington Post called ‘A new lawsuit shines a light on caste discrimination in the U.S. and around the world,’ HERE.

Thenmozhi Soundararajan, a Dalit American artist and activist, and the founder and executive director of Equality Labs, a Dalit civil rights organization.