Yesterday was one of the blackest days for Indian corporate sector when a young Muslim candidate from Mumbai was denied a job, only because of this religion.
At a time when our PM is visiting foreign countries and asking the global corporate community to invest in India, this marks a negative, totally uncalled for action which demands strict action.
Zeeshan Ali Khan, a young 22 year old MBA graduate from Mumbai applied to a leading Mumbai based diamond export company called Hare Krishna Exports for his first job. His two Hindu friends had also applied for the same job.
But he received an email 15 minutes later, which shocked him to the core. It said:
“Thanks for your application. We regret to inform you that we hire only non-Muslim candidates,”
Meanwhile his two friends received interview calls.
Upset over this blatant discrimination, based on religion, he posted a screenshot of the email on his Facebook account, and it snowballed into a major controversy.
National Commission for Minorities quickly stepped in, and announced that they will conduct an enquiry into this incident and book the culprits if they are found guilty.
Zeeshan’s father is trying to understand what prompted a leading exports company to resort to such lows. He said that he ensured that his son receives good education but never expected him to be treated like this.
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Company Apologizes
Later in the day, after the incident was highlighted and reported by major news channels, Hare Krishna Exports issued an apology, stating that it was a ‘personal mess’ created by a HR Intern who was not ‘aware of the rules.’
Their statement said, “It was a blunder and personal mess created by one of our trainees who has no decision making power. We have 61 employees in our office here including one Muslim in the HR team”
FIR Lodged Against The Company
Meanwhile, reports have emerged that a FIR has been lodged against the company for discriminating recruitment based on religion, and denying a chance to appear for the interview based on religious grounds.
Suhas Raut, Senior Police Inspector at VB Nagar Police Station in Mumbai said that a case has been registered under IPC sections 153-B, (imputation and assertions prejudicial to national integration) and 153 B 1b (asserting or publishing that any class of persons shall by reason of their being members of any religious, racial or language or regional group or caste or community be denied or deprived of their rights as citizens of India).
The FIR has been not been lodged against an individual but against the company.
Politicians Condemn This Action
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has strongly condemned this action, and have announced a separate investigation would be carried out to book the culprits.
Minister of state for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has also come out strongly against this action, stating that Indian constitution doesn’t approve such discrimination based on religion. He said, “A person’s caste, area or religion cannot be a demerit. Discrimination on the basis of religion is neither allowed by our Constitution, nor by our administration.”
What Indian Laws Say About Discrimination
As per Article 15 of the Indian Constitution, discrimination based on religion race, caste, sex or place of birth is prohibited, and demands strict action.
Further, Article 16, part II states, “No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or any of them, be ineligible for, or discriminated against in respect of, any employment or office under the State.”
Not only Hare Krishna Exports violated this law, but also caused severe mental and emotional trauma to the candidate, who had believed that there exists no such discrimination in the country.
We strongly condemn this religious discrimination within the Indian corporate sector, and hope that strict action will be taken against this organization.