The elite TNCA Club’s refusal to allow admission to a dhoti-clad Madras High Court judge and two lawyers last Friday, took a new turn on Wednesday with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa describing the incident as a case of “sartorial despotism” and issuing a stern warning that such clubs stand to lose their licences.

Jayalalithaa told the State Assembly on Wednesday that the ongoing session would legislate a law to resolve such problems. “The Government has come across many incidents of denial of entry to people attired in dhotis by private clubs. Institutions indulging in actions that go against Tamil culture stand to lose their license as-well-as recognition,” warned the Chief Minister.

The denial of admission to the judge and lawyers into TNCA by the club authorities resulted in all political parties in the State coming together on an issue, a rare event in Tamil Nadu. Both the AIADMK and the DMK went to the extent of describing the dhoti as the “traditional national attire” of Tamil Nadu.

However, members of private clubs described the controversy as irrelevant and unnecessary. “This controversy is only because the aggrieved party belonged to the judiciary. Those judicial officers who decry the incident do not allow lawyers to appear in dhoti in courts. This is sheer hypocrisy. How many lawyers and judges would dare to come to the court rooms in this so-called traditional attire,” asked Ramaswamy Mohan, veteran sports scribe who has membership in at least half a dozen elite clubs in Chennai and is a stickler for norms.

Even as the controversy hit the headlines, with politicians and lawyers swearing their commitment to dhoti, people in Tamil Nadu chuckle over an incident which happened in the State Assembly during 1991. Parithi Elamvazhuthi, the lone DMK member in that Assembly, was forced to come to the House in trousers as the AIADMK members used to pull down his dhoti as a result of inter-party rivalry. A dhoti-clad Elamvazhuthi would change to trousers to escape the cruel prank pulled by AIADMK members during the entire session of the House.

High-end clubs entertain guests only if they follow the dress code. The Madras Club, in an invitation for a book release function sent to scribes as recently as December 2013, had insisted that gentlemen should wear sleeved shirts with collars, long trousers, socks and covered shoes. Needless to say, there was no controversy or heart burn over this dress code.

Interestingly, there is a section of people who demand that Tamil Nadu should follow in the steps of neighbouring Kerala which enacted a law making it mandatory for all men to wear dhoti at least once in a week. 

However, TNCA club officials said the organisers of the book release function had been told in advance about the dress code to be followed by guests. “It was for the organisers to inform the invitees about the dress code,” said Kasi Viswanathan secretary, TNCA Club.