A shameful case of class-based discrimination has come to light involving Karnataka Golf Association (KGA) in Bengaluru. This comes after member of animal welfare NGO Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA) Sanjana Madappa, in a Facebook post, highlighted how her nanny was not allowed to enter the KGA premises and left humiliated.
"I’ve been a part of the Karnataka Golf Association (KGA) for years. First, through my father and then after I became a member myself. Today I can honestly say I am disgusted and horrified at some of the people on the committee that represents KGA. I have never been on the receiving end of so much discrimination and high handedness as today," Sanjana wrote on Facebook.
She went on to describe what happened on Tuesday when she went to the KGA for lunch along with her cousins, including Rosy, the woman employed as her child's nanny. A KGA representative allegedly told Sanjana that "household staff were not allowed beyond the parking lot" and were not allowed to be signed in as guests.
"KGA has a ridiculous policy where they discriminate against household staff. They do not allow them beyond the parking lot into KGA for whatever archaic reason. I find this appalling on a personal level because the people who help me manage my home, my ten dogs and my child are not lesser people. They are part of my family, end of discussion," Sanjana's argued in her post.
Sanjana said that despite her attempts to explain to the receptionist that Rosy was a part of her family, and would be signed in as a guest by her, a man standing at the front desk began arguing with her about the club's policies. The man identified himself as Vinod Chinnappa, who holds the Captain’s office at the KGA, and allegedly asked Sanjana to abide by the rules or leave the club's premises.
"He then went on to direct the men at the reception to ignore me and get back to work and he waved me away like he was swatting away an annoying fly. Given that my dad has held the same office in the past, my mother went and spoke to Mr Chinnappa, explaining to him that Rosy was like family to us and we would be signing her in as a guest. At which point it seemed like he was a reasonable man and he agreed to allow us in," Sanjana added.
To her dismay, the discrimination did not end here. After being seated at a table, the waiter allegedly informed Sanjana in the middle of the meal that they would not be served any longer because of Rosy's presence. He said that the orders had come from Vinod Chinnappa.
"I was feeling horrible that all of this had happened in front of Rosy who speaks fluent English. When Mr Chinnappa referred to her as ‘these kinds of people are not allowed in the establishment’, I was mortified that I was putting her through this humiliation,” Sanjana wrote.
“In this day and age, to have someone treat people like this is just appalling. My nanny takes care of my son, which allows me to carry out the welfare work I do. She makes it possible for me to be a working mother while taking care of the most important person in my life. She is my family. And to have her treated this way, it’s now personal," she added.
Incidentally, this was the first time Rosy had not been allowed in - Sanjana also stated Rosy had been to the club with her several times before and there had not been a problem when she was signed in by Sanjana as a guest. “Which makes me think that this was a personal issue with Mr Vinod Chinnappa and that he took offence at the fact I didn’t fall over trying to please him when he told me he was Captain,” she said.
Questing if other KGA members were okay to have a “classist” person like Vinod represent them, Sanjana also vowed to follow due process and take him to task. “My nanny was in tears when we left and I can’t let that go,” she said, adding that she was in the process of filing a police complaint against Vinod as well.
Speaking to TNM, Sandhya Madappa, Sanjana's mother said that the family would write to the KGA. "We will follow due process. We have to give the club a chance to rectify this. We will write to KGA and wait for their response," Sandhya said.
Read Sanjana’s full post here
This is not the first time this issue has created controversy. Earlier, the Bangalore Club had drawn flak for similar discriminatory policies against household staff. Even in the comments section on Sanjana’s Facebook post, several people have pointed out that despite the criticism, Bangalore Club continues to have such rules.