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After outrage, Delhi Golf club ‘apologises’ for throwing out Meghalaya woman due to her dress

The Delhi Golf Club rendered an apology to the member whose guest was asked to leave and is also taking necessary action against staff who indulged in misbehaviour

Days after facing criticism for throwing out a Meghalaya woman for wearing her ethnic dress, the Delhi Golf Club rendered an apology to the member whose guest was asked to leave and is also taking necessary action against staff who indulged in misbehaviour. In a statement to the press, the Club said: “We have sought an explanation from the staff and disciplinary action is in the process. An apology has been made to the member who had brought the guest. This has been unconditionally accepted.”

“Incident could have been handled in a better way by staff, the guests were not asked to leave,” it added. “It is unfortunate that an undesirable attempt is being made to give the incident political and cultural overtones,” further said the Club.

P Thimmayya Goel, a long-time member of the Delhi Golf Club, had invited Dr Nivedita Barthakur Sondhi, an honorary health advisor to the Assam government, and her governess, Tailin Lyngdoh, to lunch at the Delhi Golf Club on Sunday.

Speaking with ANI, Lyngdoh, meanwhile, said, “They ( Delhi Golf Club staff) told me to leave the dining hall as maids were not allowed. They were very rude. I felt ashamed and angry. I was wearing the traditional Khasi dress – Jainsem, and they told me this dress was not allowed. They also told me that I look like a Nepali.”

On the Sunday afternoon when the part began the manager, Ajit Pal accompanied by a lady, Sumita Thakur, approached Tailin and asked her to leave the table and the room. In their words ‘maids are not allowed’.

Nivedita Barthakur, an entrepreneur from Northeast India who was accompanying Lyngdoh, , questioned them, they responded that she looked like a maid, a ‘Nepali’ and her dress was different. It was pointed out that she was an invited guest, she is a Khasi lady and she is wearing her traditional dress, a Jainsem. Notedly, Lyngdoh was working as a governess for Nivedita’s son.