Paramjit Aujla

SACRAMENTO (TIP): A prominent Indian American Dalit activist fighting against the recent caste discrimination bill in California Assembly died of a heart attack as he passionately spoke against it at a city council meeting in Cupertino, sending shock waves amongst the Hindu-American community in the country.

Milind Makwana, according to his close friends and family, spoke at the City Council meeting on July 18 against SB403, the anti-caste discrimination bill in California State Assembly. Throughout the day, the Cupertino-based activist participated in various meetings and the City Council hearing, speaking passionately against it and stating that the bill was anti-Dalit. Tragically, he collapsed moments after the hearing at the Cupertino City Council.

“Milind had this clear conviction that Dalits and Bahujan are also Hindu. He was passionate about justice for underprivileged communities and, at the same time, wanted mutual trust and harmony among all communities,” his wife Purvi Makwana said in a statement issued by the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS).

“All his life, he had stood for Dharma. I urge the community to support and take forward Milind’s dream of Justice, Harmony, and Dharma,” Purvi said. This past weekend, the community started a fundraiser and raised more than USD 280,000. Living, growing, and assimilating in a foreign land is a challenge for any immigrant community, and the micro-minority Hindu community is not an exception to this rule. Milind became highly alert and concerned by California’s SB403 Bill, ‘Discrimination on the basis of ancestry’, that unjustly branded the Hindu-American community based on the castes, HSS said in a statement.