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Hindu organization in Canada to host session on motion prohibiting caste-based discrimination

The webinar aims to highlight the implications of the motion for Hindu Canadians.

The session will be held on June.29. / COHHE website

The Canadian Organization for Hindu Heritage Education (COHHE) is set to host a webinar on June.29 to discuss the implications of M-128, a motion introduced by Canadian MP Don Davies, aimed at recognizing and prohibiting caste-based discrimination in Canada.
 

The webinar poster. / Courtesy Photo

The motion introduced by MP Don Davies proposes amendments to the Canadian Human Rights Act to include caste as a prohibited ground of discrimination. Several Hindu organizations, including the Coalition of Hindus of North America (COHNA) in Canada, have expressed concern about the use of "caste" to target Indians and Hindus.

Dr Ragini Sharma, founder and president of the Board of Directors, COHHE, recently said: “There is a lot to unpack with the caste motion as proposed by MP Davies. Hindus see the motion as a state sponsored, taxpayer funded profiling of Hindu Canadians given that caste is indelibly and controversially linked to Hinduism in every dictionary, academic and media discourse.”

The COHHE is therefore hosting a webinar titled, Caste Motion Information Session, to highlight the issue. The online session will feature Richa Gautam as a guest speaker. Gautam is the founder of CasteFiles – an educational platform that challenges false caste and race narratives in media.
 



Interestingly on June.20, CANAM News Network – a Canadian news channel – conducted an interview with Gautam and Davies, during which the latter clarified that the motion is not aimed at singling out any group, including Hindus. “I wouldn’t agree with the characterization that this is targeted at anybody, I would reverse it,” he said. “What we want to do is have a full expression in our human rights code of protection.”

CANAM received feedback after this interview. Canadian Hindus are concerned that the motion will insert unnecessary and divisive caste consciousness in the community.

A CANAM viewer said, “NDP (New Democratic Party) moves forward with their continued anti-India agenda of targeting Canadian Hindus with the caste trope, while ignoring attacks on Hindus, Hindu temples and suspicious deaths of Hindu Canadians.”
 



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