An MBA graduate named, Zeshan Ali Khan got rejected for an employment opportunity at a Mumbai based diamond firm on the ground of his religion. The matter came to everyone’s notice when Zeshan posted the screenshot of the email which reads, “Thanks for your application. We regret to inform you that we hire only non-Muslim candidates” on his Facebook account. Zeshan received the ‘regret’ email yesterday from one of the senior executives of Hare Krishna Exports Pvt. Ltd.
The sensitivity of this incident has got the National Commission for Minorities involved as soon as the authorities received the news. This has to be one of the rarest incidents where a candidate got denied at an interview because of his religion.
Gone are the days when work opportunities where given on the basis of skill-set and talent!
To secure the company’s image, Mahendra S Deshmukh, associate VP & Head-HR of the company gave this statement as reported by Hindustan Times,
“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,” the reports quoted Mahendra S Deshmukh, associate VP & Head-HR of the company as saying.
The company official also passed on the blame to one “Mrs Dipika Tike, who has joined recently and is still on training.”
Zeeshan had earlier thought that the email was a joke because the company could have given a different excuse to reject his application. However, when he realized that the rejection was for real, he decided to let the world know how unfair and hypocritical some employers can be in one’s own country.
NCM chairperson Naseem Ahmed has acknowledged the complaint filed by lawyer and activist, Shehzad Poonawalla and says, “If there is any truth in this, it is unfortunate. An inquiry shall be conducted.”
What do you have to say about this incident? Is the company now trying to cover up the damage done to its own image?
