'I Was Thrown Out': Shashi Tharoor Recalls 'Racist' Europeans-Only Policy Of Mumbai's Breach Candy Club

Last Updated:May 27, 2026, 13:17 IST

The Breach Candy Club was founded in 1878 as a European-only enclave in Bombay. Until the 1960s — years after India gained independence — Indian members were barred from the club

Amid a discussion on elitism in posh Indian clubs, Mumbai’s ultra-exclusive Breach Candy Club has come under the radar over a controversial policy that limits trust committee membership only to European passport holders residing in the city.

As the debate continues, an old blog post by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has resurfaced on social media. In the post, Tharoor — a former diplomat — recalled a deeply discriminatory experience from the 60s, when he was thrown out of the club for being an Indian.

“I myself was thrown out of Breach Candy Club in Bombay in the mid ’60s when an American classmate hoped he could ignore the whites and take an Indian friend along. That was India 20 years after Independence," Tharoor, now an MP from Thiruvananthapuram, wrote.

The Breach Candy Club was founded in 1878 as a European-only enclave in Bombay, now-Mumbai. Until the 1960s — years after India gained independence — Indian members were barred from the club.

Even today, the club’s constitution restricts Trust Committee membership to European passport holders in Mumbai.

As the tale of Tharoor’s exclusion from the elite club gained attention, the Congress MP dropped a fresh post on ‘X’, asserting there was no justification for such a racist provision in India.

“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?" Tharoor wrote.

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Social Media Reacts

Several social media users called out the ‘racist’ policy of Mumbai’s Breach Candy Club, arguing institutions should abide by the constitution.

“The Constitution is supreme in our country, and institutions that refuse to respect it have no right to function here", one user wrote.

“We have highlighted how the Breach Candy Club is still functioning under racial provisions in an Independent India. It’s unbelievable. High time we act", another user wrote.

A third wrote: “If a club refuses entry to shashi tharoor that club should be banned. One of the most civilized and eloquent persons in country. These clubs are joke."

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