What’s in a name? Ask Saddam Hussain of his struggle to get a job

Marine engineer finds that being named after Iraqi dictator makes life hard

AMuslim youth from the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand has changed his name after discovering it was working against his career and creating problems in getting employment.

Saddam Hussain, a marine engineer from the industrial city of Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, got his name changed to ‘Sajid Hussain’ after finding that the similarity of his name with that of executed Iraqi dictator was harming his career.

He has submitted that the international shipping companies, especially those based in United States and its allied countries were refusing to give him jobs because of his name.

Conscious about of his career, the youth has, so far, changed his name in Passport, Aadhar Card, driving licence and PAN card by way of an affidavit signed before a magistrate. The affidavit was published in two newspapers and a gazette notification was also made in this regard.

“My client had applied for jobs in many international shipping companies but largely faced denial. Even after serving three to four months with some companies, he was finally ousted due to his name,” Hussain’s lawyer Pravin Kumar Pandey said yesterday.

But the woes of Hussain are far from over. Even as his name has been rectified in all important government documents, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has been refusing to correct his name on the mark-sheet and certificates of Grade 10 and Grade12 examinations saying there is no such provisions to change name of candidates on certificates once they are issued.

Ironically, mark-sheets and certificates are compulsorily required and scanned by the recruiting authorities before offering jobs to the candidates but here the name of the victim still remains unchanged. Left with no option, he has now filed a case in the Jharkhand High Court.