Quick thread on the Cisco case and @HinduAmerican's response. According to the HAF blog:

"The State of California has asserted that the caste system is 'a strict Hindu social and religious hierarchy,' and therefore an integral part of Hindu teachings and practices." 1/n

Now step back for a moment and consider what's actually happening here: A state government agency in AMERICA is making an assertion in a court of law regarding what constitutes an "integral part of Hindu teachings and practices" 2/n

Put differently: the State of California is insisting that it has the authority to DEFINE the religious beliefs of a billion+ Hindus independent of the views of actual practicing Hindus themselves. The latter are evidently immaterial. 3/n

This is-- to put it frankly-- absolutely fucking insane and should shock ALL Americans. Can you imagine a state agency rolling up to court and insisting that Christianity and Islam enshrine prejudice against "non-believers"? 4/n

They'd rightly be laughed out of court and excoriated for their prejudice. More importantly, the average American would recognize this as fundamentally averse to the first amendment and freedom of religion. Why is this not the case when it comes to Hinduism? How is this OK? 5/n

We recognize that the adherents of the religions themselves are entitled to define their own beliefs. Hindus are not afforded this luxury. Our beliefs-- it seems-- are defined by bureaucrats working for the State of California; 6/n

the State of California is insisting that your views as a "Hindu" are not your own, but rather wholly dependent on the judgment of a court, whose judges apparently have the authority to tell you what YOU believe. Again, this is insanity. 7/n

This issue is distinct from the question of whether the alleged discrimination in this case was motivated by caste prejudice, and whether caste (jati)-- which is a pan-subcontinental social reality--is cognizable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. 8/n

There is a genuine discussion to be had about this question and as Hindu Americans we need to be at the forefront of the fight against casteism, but all Americans should recoil at the prejudicial and unconstitutional, assertions made by the State of CA in this filing. /end