'You look like a maid': Woman denied entry to golf club over traditional dress

A woman from the Indian state of Meghalaya was allegedly asked to leave the Delhi Golf Club as she was wearing the Khasi attire, which is a traditional north-eastern outfit. The club's staff reportedly said Tailin Lyngdoh looked "like a maid" and asked her to leave the place.

The incident happened on Sunday (25 June) when Lyngdoh who works as a governess for Dr Nivedita Barthakur Sondhi, an honorary health advisor to the Assam state government, was invited along with eight other guests for lunch by a long-time member of the 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," Dr Sondhi said.

"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," she said.

Dr Sondhi also took to social media to share her views on ignorance about the north-eastern region and prejudices borne out of it. In her Facebook post, she mentioned that the humiliation was "an example of North Indian bigotry, chauvinism and ignorance".

Several people also came out in support of the woman and called for an apology from the club.

After facing a lot of public pressure, the union has said that the "incident could have been handled better" and are also planning to penalise the staff for his behaviour, the BBC reported.

"We have sought an explanation from the staff and disciplinary action is in process. An apology has been made to the member who had brought the guest. This has been unconditionally accepted," the club said in a statement.

In the recent years, the country has witnessed a frequent number of attacks on citizens from the north-east.

In 2014, a 19-year-old student from the state of Arunachal Pradesh was killed in one such attack. Nido Taniam had come to visit his sister in New Delhi when he was attacked by a group of men in the Lajpat Nagar area of the city.

His death had triggered massive public protests, where students from the north-eastern states held demonstrations demanding quick action against the alleged racist attack.