Ex-Mayor's son battles against elite club's dress code in UP

Lucknow, July 2 Even as most temples are imposing dress codes for devotees, Prashant Bhatia, son of former mayor Sanyukta Bhatia and former chairman of Indian Industries Association (IIA), has written to the divisional commissioner, district magistrate and police commissioner for action against all those clubs which continue with colonial rules that humiliate Indians on account of their culture and dress.Bhatia was recently denied entry into the Golf Club here for wearing kurta-pajamas.

"The club, located at a stone's throw distance from the chief minister's residence, refused me entry, stating that wearing kurta-pajamas is not allowed by the club. About 130 years ago, Swami Vivekananda had said on the question of a foreign friend: 'The difference between your thinking and ours is that in your country you judge the personality of a person by his clothes, that is, in your country character is made by a tailor, but in our country, character is made by thoughts.

"But unfortunately, in Lucknow too after 75 years of Independence in Amrit Kal there are some clubs which judge a person's calibre and character through his clothes," said Prashant Bhatia.

He said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi proudly promotes our culture by registering his presence in all the countries of the world in his Indian attire. In such a situation, the ban on Indian clothes in the capital of the country's largest state is unfortunate. I am feeling hurt since I was told that entry in Indian clothing was banned in the Golf Club."