Indian man denied job for 'being Muslim' Published duration 22 May 2015

image copyright Aayush Deshpande image caption Zeeshan Khan says he will take a break before applying for fresh jobs

Social media users and newspaper reports have severely criticised an Indian firm for refusing to hire a Muslim man because of his religion.

Mumbai-based Zeeshan Khan applied for a job at the jewellery firm, Hari Krishna Exports, but failed to get an interview with the company.

"We regret to inform you that we only hire non-Muslim candidates," the firm said in an email reply to him.

Mr Khan, who was looking to start his professional career after finishing a business management course, said he found the reply "deeply disturbing".

"The firm's quick reply suggests that they did not even open my CV and decided to reject me only because I was a Muslim candidate," the 23-year-old told the BBC.

He posted the offensive email on Facebook and filed a complaint with the police against the firm in Mumbai.

The government in Maharashtra state has promised to conduct an inquiry.

The firm, however, said that the email to Mr Khan was mistakenly sent by a human resource trainee.

"The HR trainee who denied a job to Zeeshan 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," an official of the firm told NDTV

The firm's explanation has left many asking if it was actually telling the truth.

"Just an error? Firm's rejection of Muslim candidate raises questions," says a report in the Hindustan Times.

Other writers are angry because they feel "the atmosphere in the country has changed" since the Hindu nationalist BJP came to power last year.

"There is shock, horror and outrage in liberal circles over... this report," writes Hasan Suroor on the First Post website

According to historian Saleem Kidwai it is "a logical culmination of the anti-minorities' tirade launched during the past one year" .

The case has also triggered discussions about "religious discrimination" on social media platforms, with many users criticising the firm.

image copyright Twitter

image copyright Twitter

image copyright Twitter

image copyright Twitter

Meanwhile, some Twitter users were quick to highlight that other forms of discrimination also exists in the country.

image copyright Twitter

Landlords in some parts of the country are known for preferring tenants from specific communities.

Many believe that the practice has led to the creation of "Muslim-only or Hindu-only" housing societies in several parts of the country.

BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook.