Bengaluru: Both the Central and the state Governments are in the Control+Alter+Delete Mode. The state government, run by a party which has been vocal against the politics of bans, has gently set in motion the process to enact legislation making it mandatory for all private clubs and associations to sanction out of turn membership to lawmakers, including MLAs and MPs, and regulate their functioning.
The draft bill has been put up on the government’s website for feedback until the 18th of September. The government is expected to bring the bill to the assembly during the winter session.
In August 2012, the Assembly dominated then by the BJP, set up a seven-member committee, headed by Hemachandra Sagar, to look into the functioning of all private clubs as demanded by the then leader of the Opposition, Siddaramaiah, now chief minister. The panel visited 26 clubs across the state and submitted its report in March 2013.
Inspector General of Registration and Commissioner of Stamps Manoj Kumar Meena said the bill has been drafted as per the Assembly committee recommendations. The department will soon hold a meeting with representatives of clubs, he added.
The Legislation:
The Bill’s introduction says it is “A Bill to provide for removal of restriction, imposed by recreation clubs and public places, on persons wearing veshti, (dhoti) reflecting Kannada culture or any lndian traditional, dress, to enter into such places and for regulating the Membership and fee therein”
Thus ostensibly it has three objects – regulation of dress codes, memberships and fees of private clubs”. All of these are now regulated by the bye laws of these individual clubs, which are by and large run by annually elected committees from among their membership.
Even as the bill says that its intent is to eradicate the colonial legacy, it seems to be seeking to impose its own neo colonial legacy, as it prescribes harsh penalties on the office bearers of clubs, for failure to comply with the bill and the rules made under it.
Dress Codes:
Many private clubs have not altered their age old dress code rules which permit entry only for those in western attire. It is a discriminatory rule of the colonial era, designed to keep unwanted desi’s out. However, it also serves the purpose of uniformity and is perhaps why it has been retained.
The bill seeks to remove such restrictions when in clause 3 it says ” no person, wearing a veshti (dhoti) reflecting Kannada culture or any other lndian traditional dress, shall be denied entry into any public place, by reason only of this dress: Provided that the dress shall be worn in a decent manner”.
The Bangalore Club, started in 1868 by the British, requires its members to be dressed in ‘western style’ including shoes. Kurtha Pyjamas and Kolhapuri Chappals are not permitted. This is true of many clubs in Bengaluru. A few years ago, the club denied entry to the then-director of the National Law School of India University, Dr Mohan Gopal, as he was dressed in a dhoti-kurta.
Gopal’s protests did not cut any ice with the Club’s managing committee and finally he resigned saying “No club, howsoever exclusive, can or should consider itself above the core values embodied in our Constitution. I regret that I am unable to associate any longer with an institution that treats our culture and attire with prejudice and contempt.”
Karnataka’s bill has borrowed heavily from a similar bill passed by the Tamil Nadu assembly last year, after a similar episode involving a High Court Judge.
Membership queues
The most controversial clause of the bill is perhaps clause 5 which enables legislators and other eminent persons to jump the membership queue. It says, ” no membership shall be denied to, Member of Parliament, Member of Legislative Assembly, Member of Legislative Council, person with meritorious contribution in sports, ex-servicemen or renowned person and those who have strived for, upliftment of society, cause of State and the nation, without their representations for allotment of membership being duly considered”.
These provisions are sufficiently vague for the government to push the membership of anyone the government chooses. It’s not clear, if after due consideration, the clubs can reject an application for membership from an eminent person as described by the bill. The bill also does not specify if the membership should be considered out of turn, whether it’s for the duration of the legislator’s term, or whether it should be free of cost. These details will be known, once the rules are prescribed.
It seems that this is a battle between old Bengaluru and its elite, and the new power centers. Some say its old money vs. new. In a way, this is Bangalore vs. Bengaluru.
Membership Fee:
Bengaluru has many family clubs. These include sports associations like the KSCA and the Hockey association which have their own club houses. The admission fee in colonial clubs in Bengaluru, the Bowring Institute, the Century Club, the Bangalore Club and the Bangalore City Institute, which are over 100 years old range from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh and, in many clubs, the wait period is 15-20 years. Monthly subscriptions depend on the facilities being offered.
The House panel which went into this issue suggested formulating guidelines “for fixing membership fee and creating an environment to provide membership to the common people”.
With a view to controlling the spiraling membership fee, in whose favor it is not clear as yet, Clubs are under the provisions of this bill, required to mandatorily seek the approval of the Government before prescribing a membership fee. Clause 4 says that “no unreasonable membership fee shall be prescribed, without the approval of the Government”.
Clubs – a worried lot
Clubs are running scared after the Bangalore Club episode, in which the Club lost its bar license and its ownership of the land on which it stands was questioned following an altercation between a sentry and an institutional member, an IPS officer. The high court has given a temporary reprieve on the ownership issue, but the club’s bar remains permanently shut.
Having read the clauses of the draft bill, Clubs says they are willing to make certain concessions, like altering their dress codes, but privately say that they say they can’t allow politicians or anybody else to jump membership queues. They say they have no issue on providing temporary or associate membership with all the associated privileges that such membership entails on payment of the prescribed fees, but are wary of providing any special treatment to the detriment of regular members.
Legislators Club:
True, legislators have not been able to make an entry into prestigious clubs due perhaps, to the long membership queues and the membership process itself. It is for this reason that they have previously tried to have a club of their own on the lines the Constitution Club of India. Two heritage structures, the Balabrooie guest house and the Carlton House, both government properties were considered, but abandoned due to public criticism. It appears that this bill is their way circumventing the problem.
A battle is looming. Bangalore is not going to give in so easily to Bengaluru. They are likely to take the fight all the way to the Apex Court, and there is no way to predict how the battle will end, but one thing is fo sure, the clubs will never be the same again, as they live in apprehension of the guillotine.
