A Mumbai-based diamond export company, Hari Krishna Exports, is in the news for rejecting job application of a young man just because he is a Muslim. On 19th May 2015, Zeshan Ali Khan emailed his resume to Hare Krishna Exports Pvt. Ltd. for an opening in International Business, but within 15 minutes he got a reply mentioning religion as the criteria for rejection
OpIndia Staff team called Mahendra S. Deshmukh, Associate VP & Head-HR of the company. Mr. Deshmukh blamed a ‘junior employee’ for it and ensured that action will be taken against the employee. He also said that their company already has Muslims.
This is not the first case of blatant religious discrimination. Schools, organizations, companies, etc. have been practicing religious discrimination directly or indirectly. Apart from personal experiences shared by people, a simple search on Job Portals can also demonstrate that many big public institutions practice discrimination and religious bias for providing employment.
If companies fail to employ proper training and development programs on diversity and inclusion, their certifications must be audited or canceled. India lacks a comprehensive anti-discrimination law that can tackle all forms of discrimination. Several laws provide safeguards to employees in the public sector, but many of those don’t apply to the private sector. We need more explicit and stringent laws to tackle these social issues.