Toronto: The school board in Canada’s largest city, Toronto, will decide on Wednesday whether to formally address caste-based oppression.
The motion will come before the 22-member Toronto District School Board (TDSB), the largest in the country, on March 8, after it was passed a month earlier by its Governance and Policy Committee.
The motion was moved by TDSB Trustee Yalini Rajakulasingam and seconded by her colleague Anu Sriskandarajah.
The reasons cited for the motion are that “caste-based oppression is experienced by various faith communities in South Asia and the Caribbean” and that “there is a rise in documented caste-based discrimination in the diaspora, including Toronto”. It added that “caste may be identified by but not limited to an individual’s last name, family occupation, diet and area of origin, and self-identification can be unsafe when caste-based discrimination is not recognised”.
It seeks to form a working group comprising activists “who self-identify as Dalit and are from caste-oppressed groups”, who will then have the mandate “to define caste-based discrimination, lead curriculum and instruction development on caste oppression and professional development for staff”.
TDSB has acknowledged that there is no data available for instance of caste-based discrimination within the system. However, Rajakulasingam argued during the committee meeting on February that such a mechanism would facilitate that process.
Rajakulasingam and Sriskandarajah are yet to respond to queries from the Hindustan Times in this regard.
The motion has riled Indo-Canadian groups and caused them concern. A statement from the Canadian Organisation for Hindu Heritage Education (COHHE) said “the caste motion singles out South Asians for scrutiny” and in that way, it “stereotypes South Asians, creates prejudice against them, paving the way for hate and discrimination”.
“We are also concerned about due process, meaning an overall fairness of the policy. We are incredulous that the SA (South Asian) community was not consulted and that the motion was driven by activists.”
A petition started by the organisation said it stood against any form of caste oppression but that “TDSB reports it has never received a complaint about ‘caste oppression’,” adding that there is “little evidence or reports of ‘caste oppression’ in Toronto and for that matter Canada”.
To express their opposition to the motion, community activists are planning a demonstration involving parents of students and residents in front of the TDSB headquarters in Toronto prior to the beginning of board meeting on Wednesday.
