'No lungis and nighties': Resident society in India's Greater Noida imposes dress code

In a strange incident in the north Indian city of Greater Noida, a Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA) society issued a dress code notice to its residents, requesting them “not to wear ‘lungis and nighties’ in the society premises”. The notice, dated June 10, was shared on social media on Tuesday and drew criticisms from residents of other housing societies over the RWA’s attempt to dictate to people their personal choices.

The notice was issued by the RWA of Himsagar Society in Phi-2, Greater Noida, which was titled, “Dress code for walking in the premises of the society”.

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It stated, “It is expected from all of you that whenever you roam in the society at any time, you should pay special attention to your conduct and dress so that you do not give any chance to someone to object to your behaviour... Therefore, everyone is requested not to roam around wearing lungi and nightie which are home wear.”

The RWA president, CK Kalra, requested residents to follow these guidelines after receiving complaints from a few women residents. “A few days ago, some women complained about a senior citizen practising yoga in the park wearing a loose cloth (lungi). We first tried to request people verbally, then our association decided to put it up in the form of a circular.”

“It is simply a request to the residents of the society,” he insisted.

Lungis and nighties are common clothing for casual or night wear in India and are preferred by many during summer months when heat and humidity can make wearing fitted clothes uncomfortable.

Mixed reaction from residents

There is a mixed reaction by residents of the society about this decree on dress code. Some residents quoted by Hindustan Times said that they didn’t have a problem with the circular.

“It is not like the RWA is imposing a fine for not complying with the dress code. I personally have never seen any of the residents roaming the premises in lungis or nighties. Here people are more disciplined as there are several retired defence personnel living here,” Rukmani Singh, a resident of the society told HT.

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Devender Tiger, who is the president of the Federation of RWAs in Greater Noida disagreed, “A residential society is not an educational institution that it needs a dress code,” he said.

Rajiva Singh, president of the Noida Federation of Apartment Owner’s Association (NOFAA) said that welfare associations do not have the authority to draft or define such guidelines.

(With inputs from agencies)

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