On March 8th, 2023, The Toronto District School Board will vote on a motion for a strategy challenging caste-based discrimination in TDSB schools.

We strongly support this crucial motion. It is a groundbreaking move that will increase the safety of caste-oppressed students and families in the TDSB system. 

Caste oppression exists in the Canadian South Asian Diaspora and is rampant in education. Caste violence is experienced in the classroom, school hallways, playground, parent-teacher meetings and TDSB celebrations. In addition, caste oppression pervades all aspects of society including but not limited to workplaces, housing, child welfare and extracurricular activities. Dalit and Caste-oppressed students, staff, and families are experiencing casteism in public schools, but in the absence of formal acknowledgment of caste as a protected category, school board officials have not been able to understand and address the issue. 

Caste is a system of exclusion that ranks people at birth into a hierarchy based on alleged ritual purity and pollution and it affects over 1.9 billion people around the world. Dalit is one name reclaimed by caste-oppressed community members, and Dalit/caste-oppressed students’ sharing of discrimination experienced by casteism has led North American education institutions such as Carleton University, Harvard University, UC Berkeley to address caste oppression in recent years.  By including caste oppression in TDSB policies, the TDSB would join leading education institutions around North America in creating equitable learning opportunities for all students. Perceptions about caste can be based on, but not limited to an individual's last name, family occupation, diet and area of origin. Because of the stigma surrounding caste, some people choose to hide their caste identity and family ancestry.

Caste oppression in schools can take a variety of forms including but not limited to the following: 

• Dalit/caste-oppressed students or staff being subject to casteist slurs such as chamar, pariah, dhobi, bhangi, chandal, kameeni, mahar, madiga, etc. This is the equivalent of using the “n-word” to refer to Black youth/staff. 
• Dalit and Adivasi students or staff being subject to discrimination because of their food or cultural habits (i.e., beef eating).  
• South Asian peers/staff who may not want to form friendships or relationships with Dalit/Caste-oppressed or Adivasi individuals because of their identity considered impure/polluted.
• Lack of opportunities to honour Dalit/Caste-oppressed and Adivasi heritage or history. As an equity leader, TDSB celebrates cultural diversity of its student body in school activities through many multicultural activities (i.e., different heritage and history months), but there are a lack of events to celebrate Dalit/Caste-oppressed and Adivasi students, staff, and families identities (i.e., celebrating Dalit Heritage Month in April, recognition of Ambedkar Jayanti on TDSB Days of Significance Calendar, etc.). 
• Dalit students with other intersecting identities, such as queer Dalit youth, can experience a trifecta of harm: Marginalization as racialized youth in Canada, exclusion from dominant Caste-privileged South Asian communities, as well as fear of exclusion from familial spaces that might not support their queer identities.

Forms of caste-based discrimination have been noted in many regions of the world where there is a significant South Asian population. Recent legal cases in the US and UK illustrate the growing need to address this issue. In the US, 2022 the National Academic Coalition for Caste Equity and Equality Labs conducted the Caste in Higher Education Conference and Survey, the preliminary analysis of which revealed that within U.S. higher education, 4 in 5 caste-oppressed students, staff, and faculty reported experiencing caste-discrimination at the hands of their dominant caste peers.  Caste-based workplace discrimination has been covered in mainstream news outlets in Canada and beyond, including the CBC, The National Post,  NPR, CNN, Washington Post, Harpers Bazaar, PRI, New York Times, Time, Vice, Wired, BBC, Slate, New Yorker, and more. 

Caste oppression is rarely reported due to stigma, lack of knowledge, and handling practices. Our children shouldn’t face this discrimination in Canada. In the wake of rising concerns about school safety and mental health, it is important to recognize caste oppression causes immense trauma and negative mental health impacts. The rhetoric that Dalit and caste-oppressed students or staff are not part of TDSB, or that casteism is not relevant, is in itself casteist and erases experiences of Dalit and caste-oppressed students and communities in the TDSB.  Dalit Rights are Human Rights.

It is also important to note that forms of caste oppression are found in all religious communities of the South Asian diaspora and the assertions that it is “Hinduphobic” to mention it, are incorrect. Talking about caste oppression does not lead to the bullying of Hindu children, but it can both support Dalit/caste-oppressed students, as well as all TDSB students more broadly, to have a framework to understand this form of societal oppression and create a more inclusive society for all. 

The TDSB has always been an equity leader, both nationally and globally. By including caste oppression in TDSB policies, the TDSB would once again set a precedent as an equity leader by joining leading education institutions around the world in creating inclusive school spaces for all students. Passing this motion will advance justice by increasing students, parents, and educators’ intersectional understandings of the forces of oppression and the paths forward to a more just and equitable society. We support the passage of this important legislation