Aisha Wahab, who introduced a bill on 22 March in the California State Senate to provide legal recourse to individuals against caste discrimination, has said that she faced Islamophobic slurs and threats in the aftermath.
Wahab, who belongs to the Democratic Party, said that her office received dozens of calls and hundreds of emails against the legislation and some people even visited her office to intimidate the staff.
In an interview with the Time magazine on Wednesday, 29 March, she said, "My last name is Wahab, so they love to tie it to Wahhabism, or call me a jihadist or a Talibani. Basically, every racial slur and dog whistle."
She further said,
"My office has received a lot of violent threats. Within the first 24 hours of introducing the bill, the Senate received hundreds of emails in opposition to and in support of the legislation. Some who felt very strongly came into our district office and tried to intimidate our staff by talking about the Mughal Empire, which is several hundred years old."
If the California senate passes the bill, it will become the first state in the United States to enact a law explicitly banning caste discrimination. In February, Seattle became the first city in the US to do so.
"I introduced this bill because a lot of the caste oppression that is being discussed at a higher level is coming from my district – we're talking about the Cisco lawsuit or the Cal State University language being drafted or the Google situation, it all comes from my district. I want to protect more people. I view this bill as a civil rights bill, a worker’s bill, a woman's rights bill and a human rights bill," Wahab had told The Quint last week.
As the author of the anti-caste discrimination bill, Wahab will be shepherding the efforts to get it passed as it goes through multiple iterations over the next few months.
However, she will have to stave off opposition from the upper caste sections of the South Asian community and especially the Hindu right organisations in the US.
"We’ve had several people come into the office with varying levels of anger. Some just wanted to learn more. Others have been far more belligerent—yelling, screaming and being very verbally abusive to staff," she told Time.
After the Time magazine report, many people came out in support of Wahab. Historian of medieval and early modern India, Audrey Trusche, wrote on Twitter, "Mughal historian here. Stay strong, stay safe, and pass the bill!"
Congressman Ro Khanna, who too belongs to Wahab's Democratic Party, tweeted, "The death threats against Aisha Wahab are shameful. I condemn them strongly. Ambedkar was strongly against caste as are the vast majority of Indian Americans including me. If people have concerns on fair enforcement, engage with Senator Wahab in a constructive, civil way."
Columnist Dilip Mandal too expressed his solidarity with Wahab.
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