The British Government is set to become the first to outlaw caste discrimination under the provisions of the Equality Act 2010.

The Equality Bill sparked anger from India after an amendment was made by the House of Lords to prohibit caste discrimination within the definition of race discrimination. This amendment was made due to increasing concerns within Parliament following a report published by the Anti-Caste Discrimination Alliance last year which detailed the discrimination and persecution of lower caste Indians, and particularly of Dalits, in Britain.

An Indian Government official was quoted as saying, "India's position on this issue has been clear and consistent. Caste and race discrimination are two separate issues and there is no case to equate the two. We are opposed to attempts at international fora to equate the issues.”

India’s Constitution, Penal Code and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 outlaw caste discrimination. India also backed moves to include all caste discrimination as a feature of racism in the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination but it changed its position in 1996.

Dr Udit Raj who is India's leading campaigner for Dalit rights and a member of DFN UK’s Indian Advisory Group, welcomed the Equality Bill and told The Daily Telegraph:

"The United Kingdom has done the right thing. The new law will give moral boost to the people discriminated on the basis of their caste and will force the UN to include caste as a tool of discrimination. The government of India has been adopting dual standards. At world forums they accept Indians are victims of caste but when it comes to local politics and policies they cash in on caste politics.”

However, caste discrimination will not be included in the law until further research has been undertaken. The Act includes an enabling power to allow the government, in future, to extend the definition of 'race' to include 'caste'. The Government is not yet convinced that protection against caste discrimination is in fact necessary and the National Institute of Economic and Social Research has been tasked to research caste prejudice in the UK before any decision will be made.

Dalit Freedom Network UK also welcomes the move as it believes that caste discrimination along with the poverty and oppression that it brings is at the heart of why the Dalits are one of the largest groups of people trafficked in the world today. By outlawing caste discrimination in the UK, this Bill provides a platform for further dialogue with the Indian Government on the impact of caste discrimination on the human trafficking industry.

Anti Slavery Day

DFN UK also welcomed the Anti Slavery Day Act 2010 – another bill given the Royal Assent in the last week of Parliament before dissolution prior to the General Election. The issue of trafficking Dalits was highlighted by Lord Alton during the debate in the House of Lords earlier in March. The Act requires the Secretary of State to allocate an Anti Slavery Day each year to highlight the continuing cases of slavery around the world. DFN UK intend to use this day to highlight the millions of Dalits in India who have been trafficked into modern slavery.