Meghalaya woman, donning khasi attire, asked to leave Delhi Golf Club for wearing 'maid's dress'

“They told me, ‘Leave the dining hall, maids are not allowed.’ They were very rude. I felt ashamed and angry," said Tailin Lyngdoh.

Pic courtesy: Facebook

Shillong: In a shocking incident, a woman from Meghalaya was asked to leave the Delhi Golf Club on Sunday as she was wearing a traditional Khasi dress.

Tailin Lyngdoh, a governess, was accompanying her employer, Dr Nivedita Barthakur Sondhi, who was invited for lunch at the Delhi Golf Club by a member.

Sondhi is an honorary health advisor to the Assam government.

“They told me, ‘Leave the dining hall, maids are 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,” said Lyngdoh.

“I have been to the biggest restaurants and clubs in London, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. But before yesterday, no one had asked me to leave their premises,” The Indian Express quoted Lyngdoh as saying.

Confirming the incident, Sondhi said she and Lyngdoh were both guests of P Thimmayya Goel, a long-time member of the Delhi Golf Club.

"Around 10-15 minutes after we arrived, the manager, Ajit Pal, accompanied by a woman named Sumita Thakur, asked Lyngdoh to leave the table and the room. When I asked them the reason, they said she looks like a maid. I asked them how they concluded that. They said she looks different, dresses like a servant and looks like a Nepalese. That was so humiliating! I wasn't ready to accept such discrimination," The Times of India quoted Sondhi as saying.

"I protested as they were insulting a traditional dress of an Indian citizen. I also argued that her profession is immaterial as she has been invited as a guest by a member," Sondhi said.

Sondhi also penned about the incident on Facebook and slammed the guests who did not bother to intervene when Lyngdoh was asked to leave.

Here is what she wrote: