At a time when the Indian outsourcing industry is at the apex, it is hard to imagine that the attractive, bright industry is dipping in an “odd” color. And, interestingly, this new, odd color has a religious tinge.

A few weeks back, an Indian Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) organization announced to cap its job for Muslims, which are in minority in the country. Even though the announcement sounded rubbish — and many didn’t even pay attention to it — the news certainly had impacted the feelings of those Muslims who are serving to the industry for the several years.

I am still not able to understand the strategy behind the step. Maybe, it is just a personal grudge. Whatever it is, are we actually ready to lose the talent for such pointless strategies when the demand for skilled talent is already higher than the supply?

On the other hand, there are several steps taken for minorities in the country. “It is good news for the aspirants from minority community who wish to work in the BPO sector with the West Bengal Minorities Development and Financial Corporation (WBMDFC) joining up with a private BPO training institute to provide BPO training to the backward sections of society absolutely free of cost. A large number of Muslim aspirants have already registered their names for the four month training course.” 

Even though it’s good that something is being done for these people, is it necessary to segregate people on the basis of the religions they belong to? Why can’t we have programs for poor and unemployables instead of majorities or minorities?