Sep 23, 2020 14:00:00

India's 'caste discrimination' is well established in Silicon Valley, USA

The 'caste system' is a

Hindu identification system in which the position and class are determined by birth. In India, an IT powerhouse, IT engineers have gained great popularity as a profession that is not bound by the caste system, but 'caste discrimination' has spread to Indian engineers in Silicon Valley, the United States, across the sea. It has evolved into a litigation.

The Cisco Case Could Expose Rampant Prejudice Against Dalits in Silicon Valley
https://thewire.in/caste/cisco-caste-discrimination-silicon-valley-dalit-prejudice

A Silicon Valley lawsuit reveals caste discrimination is rife in the US
https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/a-silicon-valley-lawsuit-reveals-caste-discrimination-is-rife-in-the-us-39773

Commentary: How India's ancient caste system is ruining lives in Silicon Valley | ZDNet
https://www.zdnet.com/article/commentary-how-indias-ancient-caste-system-is-ruining-lives-in-silicon-valley/

The lowest class to be discriminated against is ' Dalit ', which is considered to be 'outside the status class' in the caste system. Dalits have been in so-called 'dirty' professions, such as leather workers, slaughterers, and sewage cleaners.

Discrimination against Dalits in India is persistent and harsh. Dalits are not allowed to use the well water used by the upper castes, and they have to receive education separately from the upper castes, or they may not even be able to receive education in the first place. In addition, Dalits are banned from entering Hindu temples despite their belief in Hindu gods, and before modern times they were even allowed to lie down on the ground in front of the upper castes. did not.

People born as Dalits cannot escape from the discriminated class for the rest of their lives, as the caste system states that 'caste cannot be changed'. The Indian Constitution enacted in 1950 banned the caste system, but in reality caste discrimination continues to this day.

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ActionAid India --Campaigns

Such caste discrimination continues even among Indian engineers working in Silicon Valley in the United States, and has developed into a lawsuit. In October 2016, Cisco , the world's largest computer network equipment development company, filed a complaint against a Dalit man for being severely bullied by his superior caste boss, Sundar Iyer.

According to the complaint, Mr. Iyer's bullying began with laughing in front of Indian engineers that a man belonging to Darid was able to enter the Indian Institute of Technology because of the affirmative action of the discrimination corrective action system. He said that he was excluded from the project team, the bonus was forfeited, and the promotion was hindered.

Ironically, Iyer was then taken over by Ramana Kompella, who belongs to the higher caste. However, Mr. Kompella continued to treat men in the same way as Mr. Iyer, so it seems that the situation of men did not change.

The man filed a complaint with Cisco's Human Resources Department, but according to the man, Cisco's Human Resources Department notified that 'caste discrimination is not illegal.' Meanwhile, Cisco has totally denied the man's complaint: 'Cisco is committed to creating a comprehensive work environment for everyone. We investigated this case back in 2016. However, we believe that we have complied with all laws and our own policies. '

In the wake of this incident, 250 Indian engineers belonging to Dalit who work for large American companies such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, and Netflix have confessed their 'discrimination experience.' Soundararajan of Equality Labs, an organization on discrimination issues, said that the top castes share information about the Dalits through their own contact networks, and the Dalits are discriminated against in their careers. ' ..