Two bills that sought to add caste as a protected category under New York's anti-discrimination laws failed to advance this legislative session. The bills, New York Senate Bill S.6531 and Assembly Bill A.6920, were first introduced in 2025, triggering a major debate on how these bills would single out and stereotype Hindus, Indians, or South Asian-origin people living in New York State. The Coalition of Hindus of North America campaigned against the passage of the bills and urged the residents to appeal to their assembly member or senator to vote against these bills. They said caste is not a neutral term and instead of making caste a protected category, the assembly and the senate should consider adding ancestry as a category in New York's Human Rights Law.
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