objected to the club's racial admission policies was the club's first Indian member|left Like many British social clubs established in colonial India, the Calcutta Swimming Club historically had a whites-only admission policy. Along with Indians, African-Americans were also denied admission to the club. The club would not accept Indians as members even after independence. In 1959, the Calcutta Municipal Corporation passed a resolution condemning racial discrimination practised by the club. A few years later, to protest against such discrimination, the then American Ambassador to India,
Chester Bowles, directed American diplomats to withdraw their membership of the club. According to the
New York Times, the Soviet Ambassador refused to follow suit and "at least a dozen Communist diplomats, including Soviet Consul Rogov, were conspicuous users of the Olympic-sized pool." The situation changed in 1964 (around the time of Bowles' directive), when the
Maharaja of Cooch Behar was inducted as the club's first Indian member. In 1976, PT Basu was elected as the first Indian president of the club. A controversial event in connection with the club's racial policies was an incident involving the Marxist politician (and five-time
MLA)
Ram Chatterjee in 1969. Although the club had by then admitted Indian members, it was still dominated by British and Europeans. To protest against this, Chatterjee brought a busload of
Santhal village men, wearing loincloths and armed with bows and arrows, to the club. Chatterjee, together with the village men, barged into the club and jumped into the pool. == Dress code controversies ==