Section
World
Current reporting and the global dimensions of caste — diaspora, law, and recognition beyond India.
Reporting & essays
Key moments
- 2026
Australian Senate Estimates: Caste Discrimination / Recommendation 17 (February 9, 2026)
On 9 February 2026, during the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee's February estimates round, Greens Senator David Shoebridge questioned Hugh de Kretser — President of the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) — about Recommendation 17 of the AHRC's National Anti-Racism Framework (NARF). Released in November 2024, the NARF is the Commission's most comprehensive anti-racism policy document to date; Recommendation 17 calls on the Australian Government to "investigate options for legal protections against caste discrimination," including potential amendments to the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) to explicitly recognise caste as a protected attribute.
- 2023
Seattle Anti-Caste Discrimination Ordinance (February 21, 2023)
On February 21, 2023, the Seattle City Council passed Council Bill 120511 (Ordinance 126767), making Seattle the first city in the United States — and the first jurisdiction anywhere in the world outside South Asia — to explicitly ban discrimination based on caste. Sponsored by District 3 Councilmember Kshama Sawant, Seattle's only elected socialist and the sole Indian American on the council at the time, the bill passed 6-1. Council Member Sara Nelson cast the lone dissenting vote; two council members were absent. Mayor Bruce Harrell signed the ordinance on February 23, 2023, and it took effect on March 25, 2023.