A governess from Meghalaya was allegedly asked to leave the Delhi Golf Club on Sunday as she was wearing a traditional Khasi dress, Hindustan Times reported on Tuesday. The woman, Tailin Lyngdoh (pictured above) was in a jainsem, a dress indigenous Khasi women wear in her state.

She had gone to the club along with her employer Nivedita Barthakur, an entrepreneur and advisor to the Assam government, after being invited for lunch by a club member. However, 15-20 minutes into the lunch, two club officials asked Lyngdoh to leave the table, saying the dress she was wearing “was a maid’s uniform”. They also allegedly told her to vacate the place as she looked a like a “dustbin”.

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The woman claimed she had been racially abused further.

“We were invited for lunch at the Delhi Golf Club,” Lyngdoh told IANS. “We were all seated, and the lunch was ready to be served. Suddenly, the club official came to me and asked me to leave the place. I asked for the reason, they told me that the dress [the jainsem] I was wearing was a maid’s uniform. They even said that I look like a dustbin.”

Barthakur said they will take legal action against the officials of the establishment. “I am appalled that a citizen of India is judged by her dress and treated as a pariah,” she said. “I have started consulting my lawyer. I will also take it up with Kiren Rijiju (minister of state for home) and Conrad Sangma (Lok Sabha member from Meghalaya).”

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The club issued an apology to Lyngdoh on Tuesday, two days after the incident. “We have sought an explanation from the staff, and disciplinary action is in process,” DGC said, adding that the situation could have been handled a “better way”.

However, Union minister Rijiju said the DGC issuing a statement was not enough, reported PTI. He condemned the incident and called it a “clear case of racial discrimination”. He urged Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik to take necessary action. “Such elitist mindsets will destroy the social fabric of the country,” Rijiju said.