As a historic decision, Harvard University has added caste as a protected category for all graduate and undergraduate student workers.

Harvard as the first Ivy League school will now have caste equity protection in its non-discrimination clause for unionised student workers. According to Equality Labs, this decision will impact more than 4,900 student workers at Harvard and the surrounding Harvard community.

With this addition, Harvard joins UC Davis, Colby College, Brandeis University, and several other universities where students, faculty, and staff face caste-based discrimination.

Earlier this week, the university ratified the contract of the Graduate Student Union and caste was included as the new protected category. The student organisers had been pushing for this since March.

The decision was taken after around nine months of discussions between the union and the administration with support from Equality Labs, a Dalit civil rights organisation.

“Driven in partnership with caste-oppressed community members, this win is part of a larger national movement for caste equity that aims to protect caste-oppressed students, workers, and communities across the country, Equality Lab said.

According to NCB news, discrimination based on the Hindu caste system has prevailed in campuses across the United States as immigration from South Asia increased since the 1980s.

According to the Equality Labs report, two out of three Dalit students said they had been treated unfairly at work and 60% reported facing caste-based derogatory jokes or remarks.

About 40% Dalits and 14% Shudra respondents were made to feel unwelcome at their place of worship because of their caste.

The Equality Labs survey noted that in the context of a principally Eurocentric school curriculum, many teachers are not aware of the nuances of caste and religion in South Asian society. It recommended that educators should familiarise themselves with caste and its implications for students.

In a statement, Thenmozhi Soundararajan, executive director at Equality Labs, said the courage of the Harvard Graduate Student Union and the inter-caste and interfaith coalition of community and students who helped make this win possible is inspiring.

These leaders have worked tirelessly to make this win happen while also supporting students experiencing caste discrimination, she said.

"With the incredible support of Equality Labs as well as the Harvard Anti-Caste Coalition, the Harvard Graduate Students Union has become one of the first higher education labour unions to have secured protections against caste discrimination in a collective bargaining agreement," said Aparna Gopalan, Harvard Graduate Student Union Organizer. This also marks the first time Harvard or any Ivy League institution has officially decided to include caste as a protected category, she said.

Raj Muthu, a Dalit alumni of Harvard University said, this is critical step to ensure that there is at least an avenue of recourse for students like him who have experienced caste-based discrimination at the premier university and that the well-being of caste oppressed students matter.

"From derogatory comments about the intellect of oppressed caste students, to proudly narrating their activism against affirmative action in India prior to their admission into Harvard to a complete cultural monopoly of South Asian/India celebrations, the deep sense of alienation, humiliation, and social exclusion I experienced made me constantly vigilant and worried about the consequences of being outed as a Dalit in Harvard's South Asian circles,” Muthu said.

Image Courtesy: College Consensus