The Pitampura Dress Code Debacle: A Wake-Up Call for India’s Self-Respect

India is a country where a silk saree can be as powerful as a pantsuit, and where a cotton kurta can be more elegant than the most expensive cocktail dress. Yet, here we are — in 2025 — debating whether Indian attire is “good enough” for entry into a restaurant in the heart of our own capital.

The incident at Tubata restaurant in Delhi's Pitampura, where a couple alleged they were denied entry for wearing traditional Indian clothes, has sparked more than just outrage. It has triggered a deep, uncomfortable question — how did we reach a point where we need to “allow” our own culture back into our public spaces?

The video that went viral was telling. A man in a T-shirt and a woman in a kurta-salwar, both visibly upset, narrating how they were turned away. The restaurant, as per their claim, had no problem with Western wear — just the “Indian” part seemed to be the issue. And this wasn’t some exclusive international club in a foreign land; this was a family restaurant in Delhi.

Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra’s intervention and the apology from the owner may have calmed the immediate fire, but the underlying mindset deserves a far harsher spotlight. Mishra admitted the restaurant may have had an “unofficial” policy — the most dangerous kind, because it operates in whispers and winks, not in written rules. These are the biases that eat away at dignity without leaving proof.

Let’s be clear: This is not about one restaurant. It’s about a creeping inferiority complex that still lurks in certain corners of urban India. The message is subtle but poisonous — that Western clothing is “modern” and “acceptable”, and Indian clothing is “backward” or “unsuitable”. If such attitudes go unchallenged, they slowly redefine social norms, until people begin second-guessing their own identity just to “fit in.”

Neeraj Agarwal, the owner of Tubata, strongly denies any such discrimination. “There is absolutely nothing like that. We welcome everyone, whether they come in a saree, in a suit, or in anything else, because we have built this restaurant for families,” he said. He also claimed the video was from July 3, on a day when there was a huge rush, and the couple may have mistaken a waiting delay for discrimination. “Ma’am must have thought they will have to wait, but it was nothing like that. We welcome everyone, we want them to come again and enjoy our food,” he insisted, even inviting them — and the Chief Minister — to visit.

That explanation may sound reasonable to some, but it doesn’t erase the fact that the couple’s experience felt real enough for them to record and post publicly. And herein lies the lesson — in service businesses, perception is reality. If guests walk away feeling humiliated or excluded, the damage is done, no matter what the official stance is.

Kapil Mishra’s move to announce special discounts for women wearing traditional attire on Rakshabandhan is well-intentioned, but it shouldn’t take a festival gimmick to remind businesses that Indian clothes are welcome. Respect for cultural identity should not be a seasonal offer; it should be the default setting.

The larger issue here is not just about a dress code — it’s about self-respect. When a restaurant in India needs to be told by the government that Indian attire is allowed, we’re not just dealing with bad customer service. We’re dealing with a cultural amnesia, where the markers of our own heritage are being treated as second-class in our own spaces.

In a country as diverse as ours, fashion is more than fabric — it is history, identity, and pride stitched into every thread. A kurta is not “less formal” than a shirt; a saree is not “less elegant” than a gown. If anything, they carry the weight of centuries of craft, tradition, and symbolism.

The Pitampura incident should be a wake-up call — for business owners to examine their biases, for customers to demand dignity alongside service, and for all of us to stop apologising for being visibly Indian in public spaces.

Because if we allow such incidents to be shrugged off as “misunderstandings”, the next generation might grow up thinking that the only way to be welcome in our own cities is to dress like someone else.

And that, frankly, would be the real insult.

Also Read: Dear Sir/Madam, Registered Post Has Left the Building