Shillong, June 28: Condemnation poured in on Wednesday against the Delhi Golf Club incident where, a Khasi lady, Tailin Lyngdoh who was asked to leave the club just because she was in her traditional dress, Jaiñsem
Meghalaya Home Minister, H.D.R Lyngdoh who took strong exception to the discriminatory incident at the Delhi Golf Club said, “I understand the value and importance of rules and regulations such as dress code that such establishment cherishes and adopts but it is grossly unacceptable to the extreme to make racial comments such as ‘looks like a Nepali’ or humiliating statements like ‘her dress looks like that of a maid’. Such remarks are intolerable.”
“What is really painful and shocking is that, Tailin Lyngdoh who has been off and on been travelling all over the world from Europe to the Middle East on account of her nature of work, has not faced such abusive treatment until she stepped onto the Delhi Golf Club Ltd in the capital of our own country,” the Home Minister said.
Lyngdoh, while reminding elites of the country that while sitting on lavish clubs attired in their finest finery suited and booted or in their fine silk dresses and raising their glasses of fine champagne to toast for ‘freedom and independence’ that they enjoy, said, “such freedom and independence was solely made possible through the pains of blood, sweat and tears shed by selfless leaders like our beloved Gandhiji and others like him who wore only traditional and humble dresses to express their genuine patriotism until we achieved freedom from slavery that we the present generation enjoy.”
The Minister urged the people in the rest of the country not to look down or discriminate people from the Northeast Region merely on account of their ethnic cultural dresses, customs and unique facial appearance in order to bring a nationwide unity and love without a trace of discrimination.
Former Minister and President of the Shillong Golfers’ Association, A.L. Hek stated that the attitude of Delhi Golf Club members cannot be accepted who discriminated the Khasi woman by asking to leave because she was “looking like a maid” in her traditional dress Jaiñsem.
Speaking to Shillong Today on Wednesday, Hek said that it was an unethical attitude on the part of the Delhi Golf Club officials to behave in this manner.
“India being a diverse country, they should understand that Jaiñsem is the traditional dress of our women and Meghalaya being a materinial society respects women the most. Being the president of Shillong Golfers’ Association, I personally condemned the incident not only that she is a Khasi lady, but will not tolerate anyone who discriminated women in the society. It is a great shame to insult someone on their attire,” he said.
The North East Students’ Organization (NESO) on Wednesday said the cruel act of the officials of the Delhi Golf Club was not only an insult to the Khasi woman, who was asked to leave the club just because she was in her traditional Jaiñsem, but an offence of the entire Khasi race.
Expressing its strong resentment at this humiliation, NESO chairman Samuel B Jyrwa in a statement issued here said, “this reflects the mindset and attitude that they have towards the people of North Eastern region, and this can also be termed as ‘ignorance at its worst’.
The NESO also reminded that this was not an isolated incident but people from the North East have been facing insults, harassments, intimidations, assaults in different parts of mainland India which often proved to be fatal even resulting in death just because “we dress, look, eat, talk differently.”
“People in mainland India should understand that India is not a homogenous country, and should not expect us to ape the so called majority, but we are proud of our own distinct identity, our dress, our food habits, our way of life and we will not allow anyone to try and enforce otherwise,” he said.
According to him, the people of North East are already feeling alienated due to the step motherly treatment of different governments at the centre, adding that these kinds of incidents will only alienate the people further if no corrective steps are taken.