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In a case of religious discrimination, a leading diamond export company here has rejected the job application of a young man just because he is a Muslim.
“Thanks for your application. We regret to inform you that we hire only non-Muslim candidates,” was the reply MBA graduate Zeshan Ali Khan received.
Having completed his MBA in international business, Khan was searching for a job in a leading export house. He emailed his resume to Hare Krishna Exports Pvt. Ltd. on Tuesday. The diamond conglomerate is headquartered in Mumbai and has a global presence
“Along with a bunch of friends, I forwarded my resume to the company. Almost half of them were immediately placed. I got a reply within 20 minutes of my application. I was shocked when I read it,” Khan told The Hindu .
“Initially, I thought it was a joke. Had they wanted to reject my application they could have given other excuses…,” he said.
Mr. Khan then put up a post on his experience on his Facebook page and generated sharp reactions. After the outrage gained traction, Mr. Khan on Wednesday received a “regret” e-mail by a senior executive of the company. “We would like to clarify that the company does not discriminate against candidates based on gender, caste, religion, etc. Any hurt caused in the matter is deeply regretted,” said Mahendra S. Deshmukh, Associate VP & Head-HR of the company.
Deshmukh’s email, a snapshot of which was shared with The Hindu by Khan, further said: “This erroneous email was sent by my colleague Mrs. Dipika Tike who has joined recently and is still on training.”
PTI adds :
This incident prompted the National Commission for Minorities to seek an explanation from the business house.
The alleged incident also drew criticism from the Centre’s BJP-led government, which said religious discrimination cannot be allowed.
“At a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting foreign countries and inviting them for investment and pushing ahead the ‘Make in India’ campaign, the leading export houses are rejecting candidates for their religion,” Zeshan Ali Khan said.
NCM chairperson Naseem Ahmed said, “We just received a petition this morning and as per our set procedure we will call for the comments of the respondent company and based on their response we will decide our course of action.
“If there is any truth in this, it is unfortunate. An inquiry should be conducted,” he said.
Reacting to the controversy, Minister of state for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said, “A person’s caste, region or religion cannot be a demerit.
“Discrimination on the basis of religion is neither allowed by our system nor the Constitution. If there has been case in which he (Zeshan) was denied or fired from the job only on the basis of his religion, then I feel its not right,” Naqvi said.
( This article was published in The Hindu on May 21, 2015 )
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