Khasi woman in traditional dress asked to leave Delhi club

Throwing out of a Khasi woman by a plush Delhi club for wearing traditional attire evoked sharp reactions today with Union Minister Kiren Rijiju describing it as a "case of racial discrimination" and asking the city police chief to take appropriate action.

The Union urban development ministry has sought a report from the Delhi Golf Club. Appropriate action will be initiated if the club is found violating human rights norms, a senior ministry official has said.

Reacting sharply, Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul M Sangma said such an incident was "unacceptable" and demanded legal action against the club.

The club, however, said it was "unfortunate and regrettable" that an "undesirable" attempt was being made to give the incident a political and cultural overtone.

Meghalaya-resident Tailin Lyngdoh, who was wearing a 'Jainsem', a traditional Khasi dress, went to a lunch hosted by a member of the club in the heart of the capital on June 25.

Lyngdoh said she was asked by the manager to leave while they were having lunch, saying such a dress (Jainsem) was not allowed.

The club has tendered an apology to the member who had brought the guest, Nivedita Barthakur Sondhi. Lyngdoh, who is Sondhi's son's governess, was accompanying her employer.

Lyngdoh said the manager told her that "it is not allowed so you must go out. I went out, but it was very sad for me to hear such a thing. I have travelled to many places and everybody has complimented me on my traditional dress and nobody has ever said such a thing to me".

In a Facebook post, Sondhi said, "Lyngdoh, an extremely proud, Khasi lady who has travelled the world in her Jenseim from London to UAE, was thrown out of the Delhi Golf Club because her dress was taken for a maid's uniform!" Despite she being invited in her own right as a guest of a member, she was humiliated and the two gatekeepers did not even have the grace to apologise, the post read.

"It is so appalling that a citizen of India is judged on her dress and treated as a pariah," she said.

The club, in a statement, said that the incident could have been handled in a much better way by the staff member.

Explanation of the staff was sought and disciplinary action was in process, it said.

"An apology has been made to the member who has brought the guest. This has been unconditionally accepted. It was also confirmed that the guests were not asked to leave the club premises," the statement said.

Minister of State for Home Rijiju described the incident as a "clear case of racial discrimination" and asked Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik to take appropriate action in the matter.

Rijiju, who is from Arunachal Pradesh, said the incident also reflected an "elitist mindset".

Rijiju raised the matter with Patnaik after the Meghalaya chief minister discussed the issue with him.

"I will also speak to the urban development ministry on how such privileges can be given to people with such mindsets," he said about the club, which occupies prime land in the heart of the national capital.

A senior Delhi Police officer said that they had not received a formal complaint in the matter. However, after the media reported about the incident, some officers visited the club and spoke to its representatives.

No FIR has been filed yet.

Meanwhile, Meghalaya Chief Minister Sangma demanded legal action against the club, and said, "Such racial discrimination has been happening all these years in a number of places and this particular racial behaviour is not an instance in isolation."

"All legal options available according to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989...should be taken advantage of, so that such behaviour is not repeated in future," the chief minister said in a statement here.

He has said the incident of racial behaviour of the people who do not understand the very spirit of the inclusiveness of this nation is "unacceptable, distasteful and racial discrimination" and needs to be condemned by one and all and calls for all necessary action as per the law of the land.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)