Comment by cscurmudgeon | Hacker News Reader

Comment by cscurmudgeon | Hacker News Reader

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A lot of it is FUD.

California withdrew it's Cisco case but you wont' see any coverage of that here.

https://thewire.in/caste/california-drops-caste-discriminati...

I am from India and have been in the US for more than a decade.

I come from a low caste. The only folks who have asked about my caste and asked if I am from a higher caste are white Americans due to my vegetarianism (voluntary for ethical reasons).

> Do you feel threatened when a coworker asks about where you are from?

No, not at all.

But I did get upset when my PhD advisor (a white American) wanted to know if I was from the priestly class.

There is definitely casteism in India, but I have not seen it in Silicon Valley.

Casteism is there in India and is unfortunately widespread but steadily disappearing. India's PM and President are from lower castes but you won't see coverage of that in Western news.

It appears that the Federal case was dropped, likely due to the fact that there’s no Federal law prohibiting discrimination against caste; but that the agency plans to re-file in State court and pursue the case under State law. So this sounds like a jurisdictional shift, not an admission that the case is meritless or that the conduct is lawful.

>I come from a low caste. The only folks who have asked about my caste and asked if I am from a higher caste are white Americans due to my vegetarianism (voluntary for ethical reasons).

Because other Indians will identify your caste based on your last name, food habits, dialect, your family business (etc). They don't need to ask you.

> Because other Indians will identify your caste based on your last name, food habits, dialect, your family business (etc). They don't need to ask you.

False. This is a broad generalization. Some large states in India use paternal names as last names.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patronymic#India

Only as a result of a successful movement against casteism in only a couple of Indian states.

Who is spreading the FUD and why?

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