Job denial over religion: Muslim man alleges bias at Assam railway yard
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Silchar: A young Muslim job-seeker in Assam has alleged that he was denied employment on religious grounds after applying for a mechanical engineer’s post advertised on the job portal Indeed.
Shamim Barbhuiya said he had applied for a position at a unit in Bihara Railway Station Yard in Silchar. The job description reportedly stated that the “candidate must be Bengali by birth and Indian by birth and should know three major languages.”
Indian railway station yards typically employ both government (regular) and outsourced (contractual) staff. While Indian Railways retains its own permanent workforce for core functions, non-core or auxiliary work such as maintenance and cleaning is often outsourced to private contractors.
According to Shamim, after clearing the recruitment stages he was offered a salary of ₹18,000 by the HR official but was asked to join after 6 September without receiving an offer letter. “They told me to come to the office to join, but I began doubting their claims since I wasn’t given a joining letter. When I asked about it, my question was dodged,” he told The Observer Post.
He said that after repeated follow-ups, the HR official asked, “Are you a Hindu or a Muslim?” and upon learning that he was Muslim, declared there was no vacancy. “I was shocked,” Shamim said.
Calling the experience “deeply hurtful,” he added: “As a job seeker, I always believed opportunities are based on merit and hard work. But being judged on religion instead of capability made me realise that bias is still a barrier for many deserving candidates.”
“This is not only unethical but goes against the very principles of equal opportunity in employment guaranteed by our Constitution,” he said, urging companies and HR professionals to ensure transparency and uphold diversity in hiring. He also called on job platforms such as Indeed to take strict action against discriminatory practices when evidence is provided.
This is not an isolated instance of religious bias. In July this year, Kashmiri nursing students in Bengaluru were allegedly stopped from attending classes for wearing a hijab. In Kolkata, an assistant professor resigned from her college alleging harassment for wearing the hijab.
Data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2024 show the Muslim workforce share in India dropped sharply from 22.1% in 2018-19 to 15.3% in 2022-23, a decline of 6.8 percentage points.
