IIC and Lalu

Interesting article in the HIndustan about the India International Center denying Lalu Prashad membership. It is one of the most exciting places architecturally, with intricate jaali work and the vast expanse of Lodhi Gardens as it's backdrop.

If you live outside of Delhi, then you may not understand the importance of the IIC to the capital’s intellectual life. I am the sort of person who is reluctant to apply for membership of any club. My father, who stubbornly refused to join any of Bombay’s so-called elite clubs, taught me that any organisation that presumes to judge your social acceptability on the basis of some burra sahib criteria is worthy only of derision and contempt.

But, over a dozen years ago, I made an exception for the IIC because it was the one club I knew of that operated on criteria my father would have approved of. It paid no attention to wealth or social standing but selected members only on the basis of intellectual attainments and their ability to contribute to the building of modern India.