Karnataka Government Orders 7-Day Mall Shutdown After Farmer Denied Entry In Dhoti Sparks Outrage In Bengaluru

In a recent development related to the denial of entry to 70-year-old farmer, Fakeerappa, for wearing a dhoti, sparking protests by Kannada organizations, the Karnataka government has ordered the mall to shut down for 7 days. Karnataka's Urban Development Minister has taken action against the mall.

With this recent events, Bengaluru have sparked conversations about dress codes, discrimination, and respect for traditions.

Farmer's Experience at GT Mall, Bengaluru

On July 16, Fakeerappa, a 70-year old farmer, faced an upsetting situation when he was denied entry to GT Mall in Bengaluru because he was wearing a dhoti. He was accompanied by his son to watch a movie, but was stopped by security personnel who insisted he wear trousers to be allowed inside.

His son, in a viral video, expressed his frustration and said that "We came here at 6 pm, but the security guards said they won't let us in because my father is wearing a dhoti. We requested them a lot, but they still did not let us in."

According to a report by The Hindu, the mall's management issued a formal apology to Fakeerappa and his family and also the security guard involved also personally apologised.

Moreover, the video quickly gained traction, leading to a protest by activists from Kannada organisations.

'Wearing slippers' - Denied entry to Ather's Swapnil Jain and Frido CEO In Bengaluru restaurant

In a similiar X post , formerly known as Twitter, Ganesh Sonawane, the founder and CEO of MyFrido, reshared a post about a 70-year-old farmer being denied entry to GT Mall in Bengaluru because he was wearing a dhoti.

Sonawane shared a similar experience in his post, and wrote, "True story: Swapnil, Ather co-founder, and I had once gone to a restaurant in Bengaluru and were denied entry because we were wearing slippers instead of shoes."

Netizens Reaction

One of the X user, to Sonawane post commented, "I don’t see a parallel here. Panche/Dhoti is a formal Indian Attire. A classist mindset at work when the mall denied entry and can’t be justified. Slippers aren’t formal in any culture and the restaurant ought to put it upfront if it has a dress code."

Sonawane, further responded to the user and wrote, "Slippers were considered formal way earlier than dhoti was invented."

Another X user added, "Restaurants can and do have dress codes. Plenty in the west won’t allow you in without shoes + shirts. True story: Rafael Nadal was once denied entry to a restaurant because he was dressed in shorts." To this Sonawane commented, "e respected that and went to another place. Didn’t call it discrimination, just shared an incident"