Indian company denies job to MBA graduate for being Muslim

“We regret to inform you that we hire only non-Muslim candidates,” was the email received by Zeeshan Ali Khan within 15 minutes after he applied for a marketing job with a multi-national jewellary exports company in Mumbai.

According to NDTV, two of Zeeshan’s classmates, Mukund Mani and Omkar Bansode, also applied for the same job and they were called for interviews the very next day. Zeeshan, an MBA degree holder, told the Indian channel: “I was shocked. I took a screenshot of the email 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.” An FIR or police complaint has been registered against the company, Hari Krishna Exports, which has blamed a trainee for what it called an error. “The HR trainee who denied a job to

Zeshan Khan has been suspended. The company functions without any caste, religion or gender bias. In fact, more than 50 employees are from the minority community and people from 28 states are working in our group companies,” a company representative told NDTV.

The screenshot has been widely circulated on Twitter and Facebook and has sparked outrage.

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.