An Unexpected Battle Over Banning Caste Discrimination

<p>California is poised to become the first state to outlaw discrimination based on a person’s caste. The system of social stratification, which dates back thousands of years, has been outlawed in India and Nepal for decades.</p><p>Amy Qin, a correspondent who covers Asian American communities for The Times, explains why so many believe a prejudice that originated on the other side of the globe now requires legal protection in the U.S.  — and why so many are equally convinced that it would be a bad idea.</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/amy-qin">Amy Qin</a>, a national correspondent covering Asian American communities for The New York Times.</p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>The bill, recently<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/08/us/california-caste-discrimination.html"> passed by the California State Legislature</a>, has led to intense debate among South Asian immigrants.</li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/06/world/asia/india-caste-discrimination-dalit-journalist-mooknayak.html?searchResultPosition=3">Meena Kotwal</a>, a Dalit journalist, started a news outlet focused on marginalized groups in India, hoping that telling their stories would help improve their lives.</li></ul><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a> Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.</p>