Legacy Of Slave Mentality? Farmer Wearing Dhoti Denied Entry Into Bengaluru Mall

You must have heard or read that there used to be restaurants or places where Indians or people wearing dhoti-kurta or saree were not allowed to enter. You may think that those were hard times for Indians as they had to face such discrimination and you may be thanking the gods that those things came to an end. However, even after 75 years of independence, there are such organisations still running in India which follow such rules.

According to reports, a mall in Bengaluru stopped a farmer from entering the premises only because he was wearing a dhoti. Fakeerappa, a farmer in his seventies, went to the G. T. Mall on Magadi Main Road in Bengaluru with his son to watch a movie at a multiplex. However, they were stopped at the entrance because of his traditional attire — a dhoti and a white shirt. His son recorded the interaction, in which the security supervisor stated that the farmer would be allowed entry if he changed into pants.

Denied entry for wearing Panche (Dhoti). They came to watch the movie

The incident happened in Bengaluru #GTMall

The Mall should correct this mistake and provide one year free movie pass to the old person as a compensation pic.twitter.com/fMUaVdyq4V —  (@ChekrishnaCk) July 16, 2024

Speaking to the media, Fakeerappa expressed his views, stating, "I am an illiterate farmer who understands the importance of education. I have ensured that all five of my children received an education and they are now well-placed. However, I cannot abandon my culture and traditional attire to conform to wearing pants just to visit a mall. It is disheartening that people in our own State feel inferior about our own dressing style and culture."

Members of Pro-Kannada and Pro-Farmers organizations staged a protest after an elderly farmer was denied entry to GT World Mall in Bengaluru for wearing a dhoti.

In February of this year, a farmer wearing a dhoti was prevented by security guards from boarding a Namma Metro train, even though he had a valid ticket. In response, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) dismissed the security supervisor who had stopped the farmer.