ADVERTISEMENTs
.png)
“Misuse of human rights’ noble intent”: CoHNA slams motion against caste-based discrimination in Canada
The Coalition of Hindus of North America Canada has repeatedly expressed concern over the use of “caste” to target Indians and Hindus specifically.
.jpg)
MP Davies announcing the introduction of the bill at a press conference. / X/@DonDavies
The Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) in Canada has expressed its ongoing concern about the use of "caste" to target Indians and Hindus. The organization responded to a motion introduced by Canadian MP Don Davies that seeks to acknowledge and ban caste-based discrimination in Canada.
“MP Davies, introduced motion M-128 today, a bill that misuses Human Rights's noble intent, to single out, profile, & target a specific group of people based on their origin. CoHNA has repeatedly raised concerns about the use of “caste” to target Indians & Hindus specifically,” CoHNA said in a post on X on June.15.
MP Davies, introduced motion M-128 today, a bill that misuses Human Rights's noble intent, to single out, profile, & target a specific group of people based on their origin. CoHNA has repeatedly raised concerns about the use of “caste” to target Indians & Hindus specifically. 1/n https://t.co/5fAUi73LQB pic.twitter.com/F0iTkRX0IC
— CoHNA Canada (@cohnacanada) June 15, 2024
Attaching a screengrab of the dictionary definition of the word “caste”, CoHNA said, “Thanks to centuries of colonial propaganda, caste is not a neutral word. Check out how leading dictionaries and search engines define the word. Canadian Hindus know that they will be targeted as a result of these laws.”
The organization also reiterated that Canadian media and textbooks target school students as they link caste to Hinduism.
Canadian state-funded media and textbooks targeting young middle school kids -ALL deliberately link caste to Hinduism. E.g- a "caste explainer" video by Canadian govt funded news agency. @CBCNews
— CoHNA Canada (@cohnacanada) June 15, 2024
Repeat after us-caste is not a neutral term! 3/nhttps://t.co/Hb8JW9yiOP
Stating further examples of the “malicious” use of caste, CoHNA said, “We’ve seen the malicious misuse of caste to target Indians and Hindus in a Cisco lawsuit brought by the State of California in 2020 – a case that has now completely collapsed. Yet laws and policies passed using Cisco as an excuse remain in place.”
CoHNA was referring to a lawsuit, which drew widespread scrutiny and criticism toward Indian-American managers Sundar Iyer and Ramana Kompella. Iyer and Kompella were accused of perpetrating caste discrimination to a Dalit employee at workplace.
“In the US, similar attempts to victimize Hindus and Indians with California’s SB-403 failed. Hindu Canadians living in the hostile environment of Hinduphobic attacks, need their lawmakers to rather work on including Hinduphobia in anti-hate policies,” it added.
The motion introduced by MP Don Davies proposes amendments to the Canadian Human Rights Act to include caste as a prohibited ground of discrimination.
Davies’ motion states “caste-based discrimination is a part of the lived experience of many Canadians and ought to be explicitly prohibited”.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
E Paper
Video
.png)
.png)
.png)
.jpeg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Comments
Start the conversation
Become a member of New India Abroad to start commenting.
Sign Up Now
Already have an account? Login