A Hindu advocacy organization has filed suit in a California federal district court challenging allegations in the California Civil Rights Department's enforcement actions against caste discrimination that link the caste system to Hinduism. The complaint (full text) in Hindu American Foundation, Inc. v. Kish, (ED CA, filed 9/20/2022), alleges in part:
[A] caste system or discrimination on its basis are in no way a legitimate part of Hindu beliefs, teachings, or practices.
HAF vehemently opposes all types of discrimination; and takes great exception to the State of California defaming and demeaning all of Hinduism by attempting to conflate a discriminatory caste system with the Hindu religion.
Worse, California defames Hinduism by doing what the U.S. Constitution says it cannot, assert a government right to resolve questions of religious doctrine....
As a result, the CRD’s violation of the First Amendment rights of all Hindu Americans ... would likely lead employers to actively discriminate against Hindu and South Asian Americans in order to avoid the undefined maze of legal uncertainty that would be California’s caste-discrimination bar....
Stopping caste-based discrimination is a worthy goal that directly furthers Hinduism’s belief in the equal and divine essence of all people. But wrongly tying Hindu beliefs and practices to the abhorrent practice of caste-discrimination undermines that goal, violates the First Amendment rights of all Hindu-Americans, and can only lead to a denial of due process and equal protection to Americans based on their religious affiliation and national origin.
(See prior related posting.) Hindu American Foundation issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.
