GUWAHATI/NEW DELHI/SHILLONG: Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has sought “exemplary punishment” for the two employees of Delhi Golf Club who asked a Khasi woman from Meghalaya to leave a lunch party because she was wearing her traditional dress.
Sonowal called up Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday after a meeting with Nivedita Borthakur Sondhi, the employer of Tailin Lyngdoh who was humiliated at the club on June 25.
Sondhi is the honorary adviser to the Assam health department.
Expressing his anguish, Sonowal told Rijiju that the incident was “despicable and condemnable” and the club’s attitude was “not only disrespectful of the Khasi woman in traditional dress but also a discriminatory attitude towards people from the North East”, a source in the CM’s office said.
Meanwhile, Delhi Golf Club, which came under pressure from all quarters, on Wednesday formed a three-member inquiry committee comprising independent persons (neither members of the club nor from the North East) headed by Justice (retd) Mukul Mudgal as the chairperson.
“The club shall take further action after receiving the report of the inquiry committee,” said Delhi Golf Club secretary Rajiv Hora.
The club, an elite golfing establishment situated over acres of rolling greens, added that Shailja Laxman,
its HR manager, will provide administrative assistance to the three-member committee.
Mudgal, retired Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, had earlier headed a committee which was directed by the Supreme Court to conduct a probe into allegations of corruption in the Indian Premier League.
Renu Sehgal, a lawyer, and Sunayana Arora Singh, journalist and founder CEO of ORGA India, are the other two members of the panel.
“There are conflicting versions of the incident. It is deemed appropriate to institute an inquiry by independent persons,” Hora said about the incident in which Lyngdoh was asked to leave the club because she was “looking like a maid” in Jainsem.
Sondhi told Sonowal on Wednesday that she would take up the matter with the National Commission for Scheduled Tribe to which Sonowal assured all assistance from the Assam Government.
The incident drew sharp reactions from political leaders to civil society members in Meghalaya with Home Minister HDR Lyngdoh being the latest to term it “intolerable”.
In a media statement released on Wednesday, Lyngdoh reminded “the elites of the country” that the freedom they were enjoying was because of leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, who wore “traditional and humble dresses”.
He urged people of the mainland not to discriminate the people from the North East on the basis of their ethnic dresses, customs and unique facial appearance.
MSCW reacts
Members of the Meghalaya State Commission for Women (MSCW) have “unanimously condemned the despicable act of discrimination and racism and lack of grace on the part of the management of the Delhi Golf Club”.
The minutes of a meeting on Wednesday stated that the comments made by the management violated the social and cultural rights of Lyngdoh.
Stating that it has “gravely insulted and hurt the sentiments of the Khasis, a tribal community in Meghalaya”, the women’s groups present at the meeting maintained that all Khasi women wear Jainsem, which is the traditional attire of the Khasis and the same is worn by the Khasis in India and abroad.
Pointing out that Jainsem has been showcased on international platforms, the statement said, “It is unfortunate that the world is aware and appreciates Jainsem whereas our Indian brethren are ignorant of the same.”
The women’s groups stated that the incident has stripped Lyngdoh of the very fundamental right guaranteed to her by the Constitution.
The women’s group extended their gratitude to Sondhi who stood by Lyngdoh.
Congress rally
The Meghalaya Pradesh Mahila Congress will hold a rally on July 1 to protest against the atrocity and discrimination against a Khasi lady dressed in traditional attire by the staff of the Golf Club Delhi.
The rally will be flagged off from Congress Bhawan on Thana Road at 11am and proceed towards the Additional Secretariat parking lot where a meeting will be held at the junction.
The party has invited all the responsible and light-minded people to join the rally.
