Delhi Bar Denies Entry to Woman in Ethnic Dress, Issues Apology After Facing Flak

A bar in the Ambience Mall in Delhi’s Vasant Kunj area recently faced huge backlash after denying entry to a woman in Indian ethnic wear. The incident occurred at the Kylin and Ivy restaurant, after which the woman, Sangeeta K Nag posted a video on Twitter where an employee can be seen refusing entry due to her dress.

“Denied entry as ethnic wear is not allowed! A restaurant in India allows ‘smart casuals’ but not Indian wear! Whatever happened to pride in being Indian? Take a stand!,” Nag had posted on her Twitter handle, while sharing the video.

The dress code policy of the restaurant, which was also shared by Nag, reads, “Dress code to be followed. Smart casuals only/ no shorts/slippers”. In the viral video, the employee can be seen saying that they do not allow ethnic wear in the restaurant, while another man can be heard saying that they were not dressed in shorts or slippers as per the restaurant’s dress code.

According to Nag, she was dressed in a suit, dupatta and jootis.

As the video went viral, the microblogging site witnessed an outpouring of anger, with outraged users slamming the restaurant over its policy.

Terming the restaurant’s behaviour as the remnant of a colonial mindset, Congress leader Sharmistha Mukherjee tweeted, “What the hell! If this Kylin & Ivy or any other restaurant still follow such colonial practices of not allowing guests wearing ethnic clothes, their licences should be immediately cancelled. Shame! @ArvindKejriwal @PMOIndia”

Later, the restaurant issued an apology on their official Facebook page, saying, “The gentleman in the video is a new team member and his opinion in the video is his alone and in no way a representation of my or the teams’ view on the dress code restrictions. Nowhere in our company policy does it say that we will refuse ethnic wear.”

Responding to the incident, the restaurant’s owner, Saurabh Khanijo was quoted by the Indian Express as saying, “Nowhere in our company policy does it say that we will refuse ethnic wear. You can be rest assured that the necessary action will be taken at our end to enhance the team’s training and client handling skills.”

With regard to any action being taken against the employee, the restaurant’s owner told Indian Express that, “He has done a mistake he is feeling pathetic about it. And has apologised.”

However, this is not the first such incident. Earlier in 2017, a man was denied entry in a mall as he was dressed in a dhoti. The incident had led to a huge furore in the internet then as well.