‘No Muslim delivery person’: Food delivery app Swiggy faces backlash over customer’s request
Indian food delivery app Swiggy is facing backlash for not issuing a comment after a customer allegedly asked the service to not send a Muslim delivery personnel.
The incident was brought to light by Shaikh Salauddin, national general secretary of the Indian Federation of App based Transport Workers, who tagged the app and demanded action.
“Dear @Swiggy please take a stand against such a bigoted request. We (Delivery workers) are here to deliver food to one and all, be it Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh,” Mr Salauddin said in a tweet on Tuesday.
“Religion does not teach us to create divisions among people,” he added.
The incident took place in the southern state of Telangana where a customer lodged a request for a change of delivery personnel on the Swiggy app.
A screenshot of the customer’s request was shared by Mr Salauddin in his tweet.
“Don’t want a Muslim delivery person,” read the request.
Dear @Swiggy please take a stand against such a bigoted request. We (Delivery workers) are here to deliver food to one and all, be it Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh @Swiggy @TGPWU Mazhab Nahi Sikhata Aapas Mein Bair Rakhna #SareJahanSeAchhaHindustanHamara#JaiHind #JaiTelangana pic.twitter.com/XLmz9scJpH
— Shaik Salauddin (@ShaikTgfwda) August 30, 2022
The incident has sparked outrage on social media, as several users called out Swiggy for its silence. The food delivery app has not yet issued a statement on the incident.
“Platform companies cannot sit back and watch as gig workers face such blatant bigotry in the name of religion. What action will such companies take to safeguard the rights of gig workers?” tweeted Karti Chidambaram, a lawmaker from the opposition Congress party.
Platform companies cannot sit back and watch as gig workers face such blatant bigotry in the name of religion. What action will such companies take to safeguard the rights of gig workers? @Swiggy @TGPWU @Connect_IFAT
— Karti P Chidambaram (@KartiPC) August 31, 2022
“Such hate mongers demean India,” tweeted Hindu activist Rahul Easwar. “Such hate mongers demean India. There is No Right to Hate against any Indian/Human,” he added.
Dear @Swiggy @TGPWU .. As a #Hindu activist, I would request you to blacklist this man who is spreading hate against our #Muslim bros & totally supports @ShaikTgfwda Ji for raising issue. Such hate mongers demean India.
There is No Right to Hate against any Indian/Human 🇮🇳 ❤— Rahul Easwar (@RahulEaswar) August 31, 2022
Users also demanded that Swiggy blacklist customers who make such requests.
Swiggy should stop delivery to such guys and blacklist them.
— Ramachandran Mahesh (@zindadilmac) September 1, 2022
@Swiggy still no response? Have you decided to surrender to bigotry?
— Muhammed Hussain (@iamzappy) August 31, 2022
May be in future he will say food should be cooked by his choiced religious person and it is being grown on field by the same kind of person. And if it's chicken/mutton grown has to be same his choiced religious person. Where swigy can find solutions.....
— Jani Syed (@JaniSyed12) August 31, 2022
This is not the first time such an incident has happened in India, where religious fault lines have deepened in recent years.
In 2019, Zomato, another food delivery app earned praise after it cancelled a customer’s order after he requested that his “non-Hindu” rider be changed.
Just cancelled an order on @ZomatoIN they allocated a non hindu rider for my food they said they can't change rider and can't refund on cancellation I said you can't force me to take a delivery I don't want don't refund just cancel
— पं अमित शुक्ल 1775 followers limited by twiter (@Amit_shukla999) July 30, 2019
The app had tweeted in response to his service request to change the rider: “Food doesn’t have a religion. It is a religion.”
Earlier this year, the US State Department’s annual report on international religious freedom called out India for “rising attacks” on minorities and said religious minorities had faced intimidation throughout 2021.
It also cited Delhi as an example while speaking about how religious freedoms and the rights of religious minorities are under threat around the world.