Denied for decades: 54 women take on Bangalore Golf Club over voting rights and legacy discrimination

Bengaluru

Around 54 lady members of the prestigious Bangalore Golf Club (BGC) are locked in a dispute with the Management Committee over voting rights and other privileges that have been denied to them, despite holding ‘permanent’ membership for more than three decades.

The exclusion stems from colonial-era bylaws that the club continued to uphold even after India’s independence. Though these discriminatory rules were eventually amended to align with the Societies Registration Act, the reforms failed to restore the rights of the affected women.

At the time of the amendment, 110 such women were still alive. Today, only 54 remain—most of them senior citizens—who continue to fight for the equality they were promised but never received.

In a shocking move back in 2003, the Bangalore Golf Club (BGC) revoked the permanent memberships of these women, stripping them of a status they had held for decades. The women were arbitrarily reclassified under a “non-existent and unregistered lady associateship” — a category not recognized in the club’s official bylaws. 

BLR.POST has reviewed multiple documents to verify the claims.

In their quest for justice, the women approached the Karnataka State Commission for Women (KSCW), which took cognizance of the matter and issued a notice to the club on October 4, 2024. The Commission directed the Management Committee (MC) to respond within 15 days.

Subsequently, the Karnataka Department of Cooperation followed suit, serving a separate notice on December 12, 2024. This notice instructed the MC to convene a special meeting to deliberate on the denial of rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Indian Constitution—ensuring equality and the right to live with dignity—and to submit a compliance report within 90 days.

However, despite the gravity of these directives and both notices being served within the same year, the Management Committee has taken no concrete action, leaving the aggrieved women still waiting for institutional redress.

According to a document reviewed by us —details of which are being withheld to protect the member’s anonymity— a woman who joined the Bangalore Golf Club between 1990 and 1994 under the “permanent lady member” category described the club’s rules as “unfair and discriminatory.”

“We were never granted voting rights,” she stated, highlighting the deep-rooted gender bias that has persisted within the institution for decades.

In a grievance document, several women members have detailed how, over the years, their rights within the Bangalore Golf Club have been systematically eroded—reducing their membership to little more than basic entry.

The document outlines a range of specific concerns, including the denial of inheritance rights for their children, lack of spousal access, restrictions on bringing senior dependents, and exclusion from key privileges such as eligibility for Honorary Life Membership.

These limitations, the members argue, further underscore the deep and continued gender disparity entrenched in the club’s governance.

Before 1996, the “lady member” category was the only available membership path for daughters of existing male members at the Bangalore Golf Club. Although both male and female children paid identical entrance and subscription fees, only the male offspring were granted full membership rights—while the daughters were left with none.

Adding to their frustration, repeated requests by the lady members for access to the club’s registered rulebook have been consistently ignored by successive Management Committees. In a further blow, the current MC has reportedly begun issuing notices to some of these women members, actions seen as a continuation of the club’s longstanding violation of their rights.

The document also references the controversial 2003 decision, in which the club arbitrarily reclassified long-standing lady members as “Lady Associates.”

According to the members, this downgrade was carried out unilaterally—without prior notice, consultation, or approval from the general body. The club, they allege, has consistently enforced unregistered bylaws that contradict both the Indian Constitution and the Societies Registration Act, effectively denying women their rightful status and protections under the law.

Permanent members’ rights and privileges

1. Vote
2. Attend General Body meetings
3. Propose amendments
4. Contest for elections
5. ⁠Propose candidates for elections
6. ⁠Propose applicants for membership
7. ⁠Sponsor their kids for membership- children of member get priority now there’s a separate queue and they also get 6 points which saves them at least 6 years of waiting over other general applicants
8. ⁠Children of permanent member also get SDA privilege which allows them to use the Club after they apply for membership until membership confirmation
9. ⁠Permanent members also get honorary status after 65 years of age and 15 years as member at which point they don’t have to pay subscription fees
10. ⁠Upon death of permanent members, their non-voting privileges pass on to their spouse
11. ⁠Spouse of permanent members can use the club on their own I.e spousal rights

The lady members have long been denied privileges 1 to 6, and after 2003, privileges 7 to 11 were also removed in violation of the Constitution and the binding Act, it is stated in the document.