Racism In Infosys? CEO Allegedly Called These Board Members As ‘Madrasi’, ‘Diva’ (Whistleblower Reveals)

Definition of Racism as per Cambridge Dictionary: “the belief that people’s qualities are influenced by their race and that the members of other races are not as good as the members of your own, or the resulting unfair treatment of members of other races…”

Racism is an ugly phenomenon, which creates divides among human beings, and serves no purpose at all, besides creating ridge and divide and hatred.

If the whistleblower’s accounts regarding Infosys is indeed true, then their Chief Executive Officer Salil Parekh has allegedly called two of their Board members as ‘Madrasi’, which is a deeply racist remark.

And not only that, he called another Board Member, a woman who has proved her calibre in the corporate sector as an eminent entrepreneur, as ‘diva’.

This is not only shameful, but also pretty shocking.

We repeat here: These allegations have been put forward by a group of whistleblowers, and investigations are currently on.

Our views and opinions are solely based on the allegations made by the whistleblowers.

Whistleblower Reveals: CEO Called Board Members As Madrasis

As per the letter shared by a group of employees, who call themselves as ‘Ethical Employees’, Infosys has been reporting wrong numbers and data to show growth and to mislead investors.

This letter has been shared with US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and Infosys’ internal audit team is right now investigating these accusations.

One aspect which this letter reveals is racism.

As per the whistleblowers, during meetings, Infosys CEO allegedly referred to senior Board Members as ‘Madrasi’ and ‘Diva’.

Here are the exact words: “no one in the board understands these things, they are happy as long as the share price is up. Those two Madrasis (Sundaram and Prahalad) and Diva (Kiran) make silly points, you just nod and ignore them”.

Who Are These Board Of Members?

D.N. Prahlad, one of the Board members probably mentioned here is DN Prahalad, who is the Chairman of EdgeVerve Limited, and from Bengaluru.

The other is allegedly D. Sundaram, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, TVS Capital Funds Ltd. He is from Chennai.

While the ‘Diva’ mentioned here is Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, who is the Chairperson and Managing Director of Biocon Limited and one of the most powerful women in the Earth. 

Racism In Infosys Is Not New

This is not the first time that the upper management of Infosys has been targeted for being racist.

In 2017, former head of immigration at Infosys’ US campus had filed a lawsuite against the company over discrimination against non South Asian employees (read Americans)

He alleged that “For non-Indians there were no raises, no promotions, no identity, no career path’”

This is clearly a form of racism against Americans. Even recruiters were asked not to hire US workers.

Not only this, but a casual Google search can reveal tons of racism related accusations against Infosys management, within India.

It would be interesting to observe, how Infosys investigates these allegations, and what action can be taken against their CEO, if these allegations are found to be true.

We will keep you updated, as more details come in.