Scheduled Tribes panel issues notice to Delhi Golf Club for refusing entry to Khasi woman

Tailin Lyngdoh, hailing from a scheduled tribe, was in a traditional Khasi dress, the jainsem, when she asked to leave the club where she was dining with a family.

The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) has issued a notice to the Delhi Golf Club following a complaint of discrimination against a Khasi woman who was asked to leave the premier club allegedly because of her attire.

Tailin Lyngdoh, hailing from a scheduled tribe, was in a traditional Khasi dress, the jainsem, when she asked to leave the club where she was dining with a family.

On June 25, Tailin Lyngdoh, hailing from a scheduled tribe, was in a traditional Khasi dress, the jainsem, when she asked to leave the club where she was dining with a family.

She alleged the club asked her to leave the dining room because the management said she was dressed like a domestic help.

The NCST, a statutory body that investigates and monitors matters related to the safeguards provided to scheduled tribes under the Constitution, asked the club to submit its reply, facts and information of the issue, including the action taken on the allegation, within seven days.

Reacting to the notice, Lyngdoh said, “I still feel bad about what had happened in Delhi. But, I wish that no one else from the marginalized communities goes through the humiliation which I faced.”

“I hope this action changes something at least,” she said.

The commission’s notice comes in the wake of a representation received from the chairperson of the Meghalaya State Commission for Women and Civil Society of Assam.

The commission said that if it does not receive a reply from the club within the stipulated period, it may exercise the powers of civil courts conferred on it under clause 8 of Article 338A of the Constitution and issue summons for the appearance of the office bearers of the club in person before it.

Lyngdoh’s employer, Nivedita B Sondhi, hoped that the process goes beyond a notice and that some action is taken against the club. “What we are fighting for is not for an individual, it is for the entire North Eastern community that faced discrimination based on their looks, attires, way of talking and so on,” she said.

In fact, the Meghalaya State Commission for Women and Civil Society of Assam is also planning to send a complaint to the National Human Rights Commission.