Company blames new HR trainee, claims it does not discriminate on religious grounds
By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Mumbai: In what can be termed as a case of discrimination due to one’s religion, a leading diamond export company here rejected a job to a young MBA graduate only because he is a Muslim.
Even as the company claimed it made no discrimination on religious grounds and blamed a new employee for the action the youth has lodged a police complaint. The issue went viral on Twitter after a friend of the youth tweeted about it.
Zeeshan Ali Khan, 22, an MBA in International business, had applied to Hari Krishna Exports Pvt Ltd. on Tuesday and within 15 minutes, he received a reply: “Thanks for your application. We regret to inform you that we hire only non-Muslim candidates.”
Khan, who completed his MBA in Mumbai from D Y Patil College, was searching for a job in a leading export house and he emailed his resume to Hari Krishna Exports Pvt Ltd. But he was shocked with the kind of reply he received from the company.
Hare Krishna Exports Pvt. Ltd. is a diamond conglomerate having headquarters in Mumbai, a branch office at Surat and a global presence.
A disappointed Khan told TwoCircles.net: “I and my two colleagues Mukund and Omkar had applied for the job at Hari Krishna Exports Pvt Ltd but both of them were called for interview while at the same time, I received this reply that the company hires only non-Muslims.”
“When I informed my colleagues about the reply I received, they refused to join the company that discriminates on the basis of religion,” he said.
Khan had immediately shared company’s response on share social media and the the issue went viral generating sharp reactions. When the news started to spread, Khan said, “I received a regret email from Mahendra S Deshmukh, Associate VP & Head-HR of the company.”
Zeshan Ali Khan [Photo Courtesy :HT]
The email read: “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.”
Not satisfied with the regret email, Khan said, “If they do not discriminate on the basis of religion, then why only my application was rejected whereas two other colleagues, who too applied along with me, were called for interview?”
“It is disgraceful that we have such company in India that operates with such unconstitutional policy”, Khan exclaimed.
Meanwhile, he lodged a complaint today with the Vinoba Bhave Nagar police station, Kurla West suburb, on the issue accusing the diamond company of “religious discrimination” by refusing him a job on grounds that he was a Muslim.
When contacted, Bhaskar Joshi, Hari Krishna’s manager (administration and HR) blamed a new HR female trainee for the discriminatory mail. Our company does not believe in any kind of discrimination, not even on the basis of religion.”
Appropriate action has been taken on the female trainee HR employee for “tarnishing company’s image”, he said and claimed, the company employees more than 50 Muslims.
He also claimed that Khan had not contacted them directly after receiving the mail but instead went to media/social media. “If he applies again, we will definitely consider his application,” he added.
Meanwhile, lawyer and activist Shehzad Poonawalla has also filed a petition to the National Commission for Minorities, and also copied the mail to the Ministry of Home Affairs, to draw “urgent attention”, to what he calls, “blatant case of discrimination against a Muslim job seeker.”