SHILLONG: The Meghalaya State Commission for Women (MSCW) has summoned the secretary of Delhi Golf Club, Rajeev Hora, following a petition by Tailin Lyngdoh who was asked to leave the elite club last month because she was wearing her traditional dress.
“We have summoned the secretary of the club to depose before the Commission on July 14,” the Commission chairperson, Theilin Phanbuh, told reporters here on Monday.
Phanbuh said many tribes from the North East are looked down upon on the basis of their looks.
“Strong action has to be taken (against the club) to ensure that racial discrimination does not happen again,” she added.
Phanbuh is optimistic that similar call for stringent action will come from the National Commission for Women, the National
Commission for Scheduled Tribe, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) as well as the three MPs who were petitioned.
She asserted that it is a democratic country and the Constitution has guaranteed equal treatment to all.
Meanwhile, Tailin Lyngdoh said incidents of racial discrimination should not be repeated. “I felt bad for myself,” she said as she narrated the incident at Delhi Golf Club to the reporters.
Nivedita Borthakur Sondhi, employer of Lyngdoh, said no apology was tendered to Lyngdoh or her. Stating that it was “wrong” and “misleading” on the part of the Golf Club as no formal copy of the apology was received, she said, “Who is the aggrieved party here? It is Tailin and not a member of the Golf Club.”
When asked whether any FIR was filed, she pointed out that both Lyngdoh and she were under tremendous pressure to withdraw their complaints.
“We took legal recourse rather than filing an FIR,” she said, hinting that the justice system in the state takes a long process.
Commenting on the issue of racial discrimination against northeastern people in mainland India, Sondhi said racial abuse takes place every now and then. “Racially profiling us has to stop,” she said.
She pointed out that the Delhi Golf Club incident brings out another issue of dignity of labour. “She is my child’s nanny. She never faced such humiliation before. Her looks and Jainsem were pointed out.”
Rebina Subba, a member of the Commission, said there is a provision in the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of atrocities) Act, 1989, which stated that written/spoken words or gestures which are discriminatory to the members of SC/ST is liable to punishment of six months with fine.
“We have sent a recommendation from here that it is against the matter of equality. Even the policy followed by Delhi Golf Club should be scrapped as it is against the equality status by discriminating racially and profiling people as well,” she said.
