Measures proposed in 2025 and 2026 lacked neutrality on their face and reinforced outdated colonial views

/PRNewswire/ - The Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) welcomes the outcome that New York Senate Bill S.6531 and Assembly Bill A.6920 did not move forward during this session. The proposals aimed to insert charged terms such as caste into New York Human Rights Law as a protected class, which would have entrenched prejudice. Rather than promoting fairness, these bills would have created a faith-tinged ethnic label that singles out and stereotypes residents of Hindu, Indian, or South Asian heritage. CoHNA stands against bias of every kind and notes with gratitude that mistreatment tied to caste is already barred under existing statutes, eliminating any need for rules that foster disparity by group.

"This marks a success for community voices and equal protection despite strong influence from academics and advocates backed by media and political allies," said Sudha Jagannathan, director of government relations. "As a Bahujan Hindu, I spent two years meeting New York lawmakers to share personal experiences and provide context. It troubles me that the state would turn my background into a tool against the very heritage that offers me comfort and resilience."

From the time the bills appeared in 2025, CoHNA conducted a community-driven effort to highlight the damage caused by wording that masks inequality as progress. The group conducted numerous discussions with state legislators, including the sponsors, and helped hundreds of residents contact their representatives. A detailed memo on legal and constitutional issues reached all 213 members of the Assembly and Senate. Dalit and Bahujan leaders within the organization spoke clearly against portrayals of Hindu places of worship as sites of bias and exclusion promoted by the same voices seeking the new protections.

"This represents another effort to twist a genuine wish for fairness into hostility toward a minority group, as occurred in California during 2023," said Nikunj Trivedi, president of CoHNA. "Caste carries loaded associations shaped by years of incomplete information and is most often linked in public discussion to Hindu and Indian communities. Ideological opponents from both extremes have used it to marginalize our people by suggesting they are more prone to hierarchy or exclusion than others."

Consequences of Caste-Related Policies

A 2024 study by the Rutgers University Social Perception Lab and the Network Contagion Research Institute revealed troubling effects from broader caste training and rules. Even brief mentions by those in authority led to greater acceptance of extreme negative statements about Hindus and Indian Americans.

Residents of New York should receive equal treatment without state-imposed identities, as illustrated by the 2021 case involving Sundar Iyer in which California authorities assigned both a religion and a caste to an atheist based solely on ancestry. The Cisco lawsuit alleging caste bias was later dropped with prejudice, underscoring its lack of foundation and the risk of sanctions the California Civil Rights Department faced.

After nearly ten years of probes and claims, evidence of widespread caste bias in the United States remains absent. Nevertheless, academics and activists with resources continue to direct public money toward personal agendas, placing American Hindus at risk of civil rights violations.

About CoHNA
CoHNA is a community-based advocacy and civil rights group focused on fostering accurate understanding of Hinduism across North America through work on community issues and public education about Hindu traditions. For details, please visit cohna.org or follow on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

SOURCE Coalition of Hindus of North America