America’s Leading Rutgers University Assures Protection Against Caste Discrimination

New Jersey- America's renowned Rutgers University has reaffirmed its commitment to combating caste discrimination by ensuring that its policies effectively address such concerns. Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, is one of America's leading public research universities.

In a recent statement, the university assured comprehensive protection under its existing anti-discrimination framework and urged affected community members to reach out to the Office of Employment Equity (OEE) for support and complaint resolution.

On January 13, 2025, Rutgers University issued a statement addressing the Task Force on Caste Discrimination's report. The university, in collaboration with the Rutgers AAUP-AFT (American Association of University Professors- American Federation of Teachers), had formed a joint Task Force to investigate potential caste-related discrimination affecting students and union members.

The task force was also tasked with recommending best practices for addressing caste-based discrimination and evaluating the possibility of adding “caste” as a protected category within the university’s Policy on Discrimination and Harassment.

In the statement, Rutgers emphasized that the publication of the report does not reflect the university's agreement with or adoption of the findings and conclusions within the report. Instead, the university clarified that, as per the agreement with the AAUP-AFT, the report was being posted for public review, and it would be subject to further assessment and consideration by the administration.

The university acknowledged the diligent work of the Task Force and expressed gratitude for its members' contributions to the ongoing discussion surrounding caste discrimination. It also recognized the task force’s role in fulfilling the agreement made during the most recent union contract negotiations.

Rutgers University reiterated its firm stance against all forms of discrimination, including caste-based discrimination. The university highlighted the importance of its policies in supporting equal opportunity, inclusion, and preventing discrimination. It confirmed that its existing policies already provide protections against caste discrimination under various protected categories such as race, religion, ethnicity, ancestry, and national origin.

The university noted that caste discrimination is typically linked to religious practices, as caste identity often places individuals in a social hierarchy within religious communities. Discrimination based on caste, therefore, falls under the category of religious discrimination according to Rutgers’ Policy Prohibiting Discrimination and Harassment.

Additionally, the university asserted that caste discrimination could also be covered by other protected classes such as ancestry and national origin, depending on the specific circumstances. For example, caste identity is often tied to an individual's position in a social hierarchy based on inherited status, which would fall under ancestry protections. Similarly, caste-based discrimination involving South Asian caste hierarchies could be considered national origin discrimination.

While acknowledging the task force's report, Rutgers confirmed that it would not be amending its current policy at this time, as it believes the existing guidelines adequately address caste discrimination through the protected categories already in place.

The university also outlined its plans to enhance communication regarding the protection against caste-based discrimination. Rutgers will use appropriate channels, including the Office of Employment Equity (OEE) website, to clarify that caste discrimination is covered by the university’s policies. The OEE’s trained Intake Support Specialist will continue to assist community members who believe they have experienced caste discrimination and guide them through the complaint process.

Furthermore, the report highlighted the importance of collecting more data on caste discrimination within the university community. Rutgers committed to improving its assessment and tracking processes and announced that it would include questions related to caste discrimination in its upcoming campus climate surveys. The data gathered from these surveys will inform future steps regarding training, policy communication, and other measures to address caste discrimination effectively.

The university also underscored its commitment to ongoing efforts to survey faculty, staff, and students about their experiences related to all forms of discrimination. Additionally, Rutgers will continue to develop and adapt training programs based on the feedback and data collected through these assessments.

Rutgers' administration concluded by reaffirming the university’s dedication to fostering an equitable, inclusive, and respectful campus environment.

The Task Force Report

The Rutgers AAUP-AFT expressed joy on the official statement by the university. In a statement on January 14, the members said, " Though they did not add caste as a specific category of discrimination prohibited at Rutgers, their announcement clearly acknowledges that caste-based discrimination exists and that current university policy bans it based on other protected categories. This statement has the same effect as what our unions and the Task Force proposed."

In its detailed report, the Task Force had mentioned: Of the many caste systems in contemporary American life, the Indian or South Asian caste system is perhaps the most well-known owing to population size and scholarly attention. There are more than six million South Asian Americans at present (about five million are Indian American), and this diaspora population continues to grow. India is the most populous nation on earth and has a growing population.

Nonetheless, as Suraj Yengde–a scholar of caste–explained in 2022, “Caste as a hereditary system is not unique to India, it is global. The inflexible forms of hierarchies do exist elsewhere.” Nonetheless, he goes on to note, “But [other caste systems] have not received the same intellectual response as is seen with [sic] Indian caste system.” This holds true in the American diaspora. Sangay Mishra, a leading scholar of the South Asian American diaspora, has drawn attention to how “the Indian diasporic community carries, and indeed replicates, caste consciousness.”