B.C. Human Rights Tribunal awards man more than $9K in case of caste-based discrimination

The B.C. Human Rights Tribunal has awarded more than $9,000 to a man who was the victim of caste-based discrimination. 

In a decision issued March 15, tribunal adjudicator Sonya Pighin found that Manoj Bhangu had been discriminated against based on his ancestry, place of origin, religion and race. 

Bhangu was able to prove the slur, chamar — the name of his Dalit caste, considered a derogatory term in the Punjabi language — was uttered by Inderjit and Avninder Dhillon during an altercation at a B.C.-based taxi company's Christmas party in 2018. 

Caste discrimination originates from a form of social hierarchy in India that is passed down through families. At the bottom of the hierarchy system is the group known as Dalits or untouchables. 

"The discrimination was short in duration but involved violence which exacerbates the severity of it," Pighin wrote. 

"[Bhangu's] history of caste-based discrimination in India intensified the severity of the impact he experienced regarding the discrimination."

According to Pighin's decision, two altercations took place In December 2018,  with the Dhillon brothers uttering slurs and physically attacking Bhangu, a driver and board director at the taxi company. 

In the first incident, Pighin says a fight and verbal confrontation occurred in the office's boardroom when Bhangu and other directors were speaking with the Dhillons about company matters. 

Certified translator Amrit Chandar testified a slur could be heard in an audio recording provided as evidence of the incident. 

Pighin says she was not convinced the slur was uttered in the first altercation. 

"I was unable to identify the Slur … [even after] I listened numerous times to that part of Audio File 1 where Mr. Chandan said he heard the Slur and documented it in the Transcript," wrote Pighin. 

In the second incident, Bhangu got into a physical altercation with Inderjit and Avninder Dhillon in the lobby of the office. 

Several witnesses were at the scene and saw the Dhillons punch and repeatedly say, "Yes, he is a 'Slur' kill him … kill this 'Slur' … he's a 'slur' beat him up," according to the written decision.

"[Witnesses] provided consistent evidence about what happened during the second altercation, and I find their evidence more convincing than the [Dhillons'] evidence," wrote Pighin.