NEW DELHI: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has recalled being thrown out of Mumbai’s elite Breach Candy Club in the 1960s, as the controversy surrounding the proposed takeover of Delhi’s colonial-era Delhi Gymkhana Club by the Centre reignited debate over colonial hangovers, elitism and exclusionary practices in India’s old clubs.The row comes amid an ongoing legal battle over Delhi Gymkhana Club after the Centre moved to terminate the lease of the prime land occupied by the institution in Lutyens’ Delhi, citing defence and security requirements. Delhi high court on Tuesday said no forceful possession would be taken by June 5 and posted the matter for further hearing at the end of July.Amid the controversy, Tharoor on Wednesday posted on X, “There is absolutely no acceptable justification for a racist provision to survive on government land. To say the club’s constitution requires it is ridiculous. What about our country’s constitution?”The Congress leader’s remarks revived attention on comments he had made earlier about being denied entry to Breach Candy Club during the 1960s because of discriminatory membership norms that favoured whites and foreign elites during the post-colonial period.Recalling the incident in a blog discussing India’s colonial legacy, Tharoor wrote, “I myself was thrown out of Breach Candy Club in Bombay in the mid ’60s when an American classmate hoped he could ignore the whites and take an Indian friend along…. That was India 20 years after Independence.”In the same piece, Tharoor criticised what he described as remnants of colonial culture that continued even decades after Independence. Referring to old institutions and symbols linked to British rule, he argued that some elite spaces in India had retained exclusionary attitudes long after the colonial era formally ended.
What is the Delhi Gymkhana Club controversy ?
The latest debate erupted after the Land and Development Office under the union housing and urban affairs ministry asked Delhi Gymkhana Club to hand over its 27.3-acre land parcel by June 5, citing the need to strengthen defence infrastructure and security arrangements in the high-security zone near the Prime Minister’s residence and key government establishments.The Centre told the Delhi high court that no forcible takeover would take place and any eviction proceedings, if initiated, would follow due legal process. The court observed that no formal eviction action had yet begun and therefore declined to pass interim orders at this stage.Senior advocates appearing for Gymkhana members argued that the move lacked a genuine public purpose and amounted to forced dispossession. The club’s members have also questioned the timing of the government’s action and alleged that the reasons cited were vague.Founded in 1913 as the Imperial Delhi Gymkhana Club during British rule, the institution originally catered to colonial administrators and military officers before dropping the word ‘Imperial’ after Independence in 1947.
What is Breach Candy Club?
Breach Candy Club is one of Mumbai’s oldest and most exclusive private clubs and has historically been associated with the city’s business, diplomatic and social elite. Along with Willingdon Club and Bombay Gymkhana, it has long been regarded as part of Mumbai’s ‘Big 3’ elite clubs.Historical accounts of the club describe it as a socially segregated space during the colonial and immediate post-colonial years, where many European expatriates and elite foreign business families socialised. The club offered sports facilities, swimming pools, restaurants and seaside recreational areas and became a major networking hub for influential business and social circles.
