Mumbai: On Tuesday, Zeshan Ali Khan applied for a marketing job with a multi-national jewellery exports company in Mumbai. Within 15 minutes, he received an email that said: “We regret to inform you that we hire only non-Muslim candidates.”
Two of his classmates, Mukund Mani and Omkar Bansode, also applied for the same job and they were called for an interview the very next day.
Zeshan told NDTV: “I was shocked. I took a screenshot and posted it on social media… Activists from across the country said I should go to the police and file a case of religious discrimination.”
The screenshot of the exchange has been widely circulated on Twitter and Facebook. Confronting outrage from across India, the company, Hari Krishna Exports, blamed a trainee for what it called a mistake.
“The HR trainee who denied job to Zeeshan Khan has been suspended. The company maintains it’s an error and not the company policy,” a company representative told NDTV.
Zeshan says his friends, who were eventually offered jobs by the company, have decided not to join. “They were given placements but I lost the opportunity because I had a ‘Khan’ in my surname,” he said.
Activists and legal experts say that the company should be punished.
“We received the complaint today. If there is any truth in it, it is very unfortunate. We will study the company’s response and decide on action,” said Naseem Ahmed, the chairman of the National Commission for Minorities.
Zeshan completed his MBA final exams last week and applied for the job after coming across the company’s ad on a recruitment portal.
Two of his classmates, Mukund Mani and Omkar Bansode, also applied for the same job and they were called for an interview the very next day.
Zeshan told NDTV: “I was shocked. I took a screenshot and posted it on social media… Activists from across the country said I should go to the police and file a case of religious discrimination.”
The screenshot of the exchange has been widely circulated on Twitter and Facebook. Confronting outrage from across India, the company, Hari Krishna Exports, blamed a trainee for what it called a mistake.
“The HR trainee who denied job to Zeeshan Khan has been suspended. The company maintains it’s an error and not the company policy,” a company representative told NDTV.
Zeshan says his friends, who were eventually offered jobs by the company, have decided not to join. “They were given placements but I lost the opportunity because I had a ‘Khan’ in my surname,” he said.
Activists and legal experts say that the company should be punished.
“We received the complaint today. If there is any truth in it, it is very unfortunate. We will study the company’s response and decide on action,” said Naseem Ahmed, the chairman of the National Commission for Minorities.
Zeshan completed his MBA final exams last week and applied for the job after coming across the company’s ad on a recruitment portal.
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