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 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.
Important discussion between me and the author of Caste Based Motion 128 to understand his thought process and reasons for introducing it in Canada
— Richa Gautam (@RichaGotham) June 22, 2024
Please watch #CasteFiles as we will soon spend more time analyzing the legalities and reasoning of the motion @AryaCanada… https://t.co/5xtIXY7eRq pic.twitter.com/PBbiuNhPuh
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.”
#Castefiles Founder @RichaGotham discussed the #2024Elections in a 5 minute short snippet here .
— castefiles (@castefiles) June 19, 2024
The US universities participated in the Dismantling Global Hindutva conference #DGHC2021 and the conference was one of the events that played a role in defining the… https://t.co/YEmexIgzyz
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