- Harsh Goenka criticized Breach Candy Club for allowing only Europeans on its Trust Committee
- The club's rule excludes Indians from governance despite being on Maharashtra government land
- Congress leader Shashi Tharoor condemned the policy as racist and unconstitutional
Amid the ongoing Delhi Gymkhana controversy, industrialist and RPG Group Chairman Harsh Goenka has initiated a discussion on elitism in posh Indian clubs after questioning the governance structure of Mumbai's iconic Breach Candy Club. In a now-viral social media post, Goenka revealed that only European passport holders can become trust members at the club.
Goenka highlighted the irony of a modern city like Mumbai being tied to outdated, colonial-era rules at one of its most exclusive clubs.
"Mumbai never tires of talking about inclusivity and progress. Yet a few decades ago, Indians were not allowed membership at Breach Candy Club, Mumbai. Astonishingly, even today, no Indian can be on its Trust Committee, only a European living in Mumbai is allowed. The irony? The land belongs to the Maharashtra Government," Goenka wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Goenka's sentiments were shared by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who said there was no 'justification' for such a racist provision on government land.
"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?" said Tharoor.
Social media users reacted angrily to Breach Candy's exclusionary policies and demanded that the government amend the laws in favour of Indians.
"My blood boils to read such stories. Now I understand how few Britishers were able to rule India for centuries. Pathetic. Pathetic," said one user while another added: "Wow, so there is still some land in India that is a colony of foreigners."
A third commented: "Everything in this country should be reset back to ZERO and rewritten, including such rules, reservations in education and jobs, political benefits, and justice."
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The Breach Candy Swimming Bath Trust, popularly known as Breach Candy Club, was founded in 1878 as a facility reserved exclusively for Europeans living in Bombay. It was only in the 1960s, years after Independence, that the club opened membership to Indians. Even then, the real power remained with the Europeans.
Membership to the club is considered highly prestigious and is associated with Mumbai's elites, including business families, Parsis, diplomats and old-money socialites.
