In a case of bigotry that has come to light, a couple in Bengaluru was flatly refused a room in a hotel, on grounds that they were an interfaith couple and that Hindus and Muslims don’t marry. Huh?
The news hit the newsstands when Shafeek Subaida Hakkim and Divya DV (a couple from Kerala) were denied a room at Olive Residency on Annipuram Main Road (Sudhama Nagar).
The grounds for refusal by the hotel staff, according to the couple? They alleged, while noting down names in the register, since they are an inter-caste couple, the receptionist expressed disapproval and cited that as per the hotel policy a Hindu and a Muslim cannot live together.
To India Today, Shafeek explained how this is the first time he’s facing such discrimination in life.
“I wanted the room for just 2 hours since my wife Divya had come here for an interview with a prestigious law college. Divya is an LLM graduate and was looking to do her PhD here.”
When Divya asked the hotel staff to show the policy in written form which says inter-caste couples can’t stay together, the couple were refused and asked to leave.
In an interview with Times Now, Shafeek cited the whole incident and said how the hotel’s staff are saving their face now, and they were refused the room because they’re an inter-faith couple.
#WATCH: Shafiq Hakkim, complainant, narrates his ordeal to TIMES NOW on how Bengaluru hotel slammed the door on him #BengaluruBigotry pic.twitter.com/PFfH5YPbJv
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) July 5, 2017
When Times Now contacted the hotel, they were told that the two were not given a room because they had minimal luggage. And, that the staff suspected something off about them after seeing their IDs, as the husband’s name on it was a Muslim’s and the wife’s name was a Hindu’s.
Shafeek and Divya, who have been married for eight years now, will be taking this up and filing an official complaint with the Kerala Human Rights Commission. A lot is being said about it on the social media and the reactions are pouring in from all directions.
Source: India Today, Times Now