Caste Resistance in the United States

• In Event: 3111 - “New” Religions in the United States and Social Justice

Abstract

Over the past fifteen years, there has been a rise in Dalit*activism in the US, and the formation of a variety of Dalit American organizations. While a few of these organizations mobilize through Buddhism, religion is a central aspect of Dalit activism since Dalit activists challenge the ideology and practices of Hindu, Sikh, and Christian religious communities in India and the diaspora. This paper examines the confluence of factors that have created a transnational network of caste activism, and the multi-pronged foci of the movement on issues in India and the United States. It is based on interviews with 28 Dalit American activists, fieldnotes from several Dalit American events, a review of Dalit American websites, blogs, and Youtube Channels, as well as newspaper articles about the Dalit American movement.

The issues around which Dalit American activists mobilize include framing caste as discrimination based on “work and descent” and consequently under the purview of international human rights organizations (in opposition to the Indian government position that caste is unique to India and consequently should be and has been addressed by the Indian government); caste discrimination and violence in India; caste discrimination and upper caste hegemony in the United States; American textbook presentations of the caste system and the ideology of Hinduism; solidarity with African Americans; critiques of Gandhi as a supporter of the caste system; and finally, promoting Gandhi’s opponent, Dalit scholar-activist Dr. Ambedkar as “the Martin Luther King of India” and the “true father of the Indian Republic” (he was the chief architect of the Indian constitution). The paper ends with a discussion of some of the dilemmas faced by the movement, such as the fact that most Dalit American supporters do not publicly self-identify as ‘Dalit’ fearing workplace discrimination since they work in the information technology industry dominated by privileged caste Indians. Consequently, many Dalit Americans prefer to ‘pass’ as members of privileged castes. This makes it difficult for Dalit American leaders to mobilize the community to challenge the caste constructions of privileged caste Indian Americans.

*Dalit, meaning ‘broken’ or ‘ground down’ is the preferred term for oppressed caste groups formerly considered ‘Untouchable’ within the Indian caste system.

Author

• Prema Ann Kurien, Syracuse University