- A Bengaluru firm sought HR candidates excluding Kannada and Marathi speakers citing diversity
- The job posting by Skill Sonics sparked widespread social media criticism for discrimination
- Users called the exclusion offensive, disrespectful, and promoting workplace discrimination
A private company in Bengaluru has sparked backlash on social media after a job posting specifically stated a preference for candidates who do not speak Kannada or Marathi. The post, made by Skill Sonics, a private firm operating in the city, was widely circulated online, drawing criticism for what many have called "discriminatory and disrespectful."
The job listing was for a Human Resources position, and a screenshot of the post shows the company explicitly seeking a "non-Kannada/Marathi speaking" candidate. The firm cited "diversity" as the reasoning behind excluding speakers of these two regional languages. However, that did little to quell the outrage.
See the tweet here:
Many social media users, especially from Karnataka and Maharashtra, condemned the move as offensive and exclusionary. Many accused the company of disrespecting local languages and promoting workplace discrimination under the guise of diversity hiring.
One user questioned why Kannada, the official language of Karnataka, should be seen as a barrier in a job located in Bengaluru. Some users also demanded that state authorities step in and take action against such discriminatory practices.
Another user wrote, "That is just a pretext to exclude local talent. Look for people with compassion and pragmatism. Culture permeates across India. You need someone who is willing to listen, vulnerable to accept mistakes, and imbibed with pride in the cultural heritage of the company as head of HR. Throw the company out of such cities no matter where they are."
A third commented, "How is this discriminatory hiring against Kannadigas legal and allowed in Karnataka?"
"Why spew unnecessary hatred? They literally wrote the reason — ‘diversity' The firm probably has a lot of marathi and kanandigas in HR," a fourth added.
Skill Sonics has yet to issue an official statement addressing the criticism.
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