Scary experience in Paharganj

Shivani Skydancer

Traveling with my Indian boyfriend ( I'm white ) we were refused a room in Paharganj. We tried at 3 well known Hotels and all of them at first said yes, they had rooms available, but then they asked if we were married, then turned us away when we told them we were not married. Street touts started following us and saying that we won't be allowed to stay anywhere in Paharganj, but we didn't believe them.

We tried a 4th Hotel, mid-range one in a side street. Again, we were asked if we were married. And because we were tired and it was getting late, we said, yes, we were married. I signed into the register under my real name though.

Everything seemed ok... we settled into our room. After about half an hour there was a loud knocking on our door. I opened and the hotel manager stood there with 3 police men! They came in menacingly and took my boyfriend outside for questioning, while one policeman stayed in the room with me. I sat on the bed, terrified. He was holding a lathi in his hand and looking me up and down in a leering way. I was expecting the worst....

Luckily my boyfriend managed to smooth talk them ( his forte). They decided to allow us to stay, but only under the condition we would take separate rooms!

After they left, the manager was apologetic, saying we should stay in this room; that it would be ok. But we immediately packed up and left. We weren't going to risk them coming back in the middle of the night. Especially not with me alone in a single room!

It was unbelievable to me that such a situation could occur in the middle of Delhi, in a bustling tourist enclave like Paharganj!

Has anyone else heard of similar experiences? How come the guide books don't mention that 'Indian/western' couples are prohibited from sharing a room in Paharganj???

We travelled around much of India and no where else were refused a room because we were unmarried.

SitaParityaga

Hey Shivani, sorry about the trouble you faced in Paharganj....you've posed a very interesting question, "why Delhi and no where else" I bet there's a good story here, and perhaps one of our Delhi members will make a comment about this.

capt_mahajan

Looks like either

-a typical shakedown attempt except that nobody seems to have asked for money
-cops being tipped off by somebody, given that there is a bit of 'foreign prostitution in Paharganj' issue around.
-Unwritten directives given to hotel owners by cops for some unknown reasons (security? recent jaipur attacks? I dunno)

shashank.aggarwal

Paharganj is a Ghetto, loads of hotels there and its easily assumed to be a center of prostitution...

__________________
Travelogue - Around India
Random Reviews

capt_mahajan

I understand the attraction of Pahargunj for foreigners.. close to the station, many foreigners around etc.. , but there are surely other much better places to stay in Delhi, and probably not much more expensive either- in fact, for the same kind of hotel they will probably be cheaper.

Nattusbs

Let's be realistic here:

White girl + Indian guy in Paharganj, Delhi?

The white girl could be from anywhere, from Europe, US, Russian states, whatever. Smells of something funny, like prostitution. Does not mean that it is, but, people get concerned. There is a racket going on, and although you both are "decent" the fact is that there is a problem.

What is the solution? I really don't know. Going to a 5-star hotel can also raise eyebrows, but, if done properly, it will be OK.

Cheers

Nattusbs

sachin1313

We really feel sorry for what has happened to you in Paharganj. This is mainly because of the image Paharganj has carried in past many years with the foreign tourists staying here and having an open culture of drugs and prostitution although same has been promoted by the hotels here.

puchoo

I am not surprised , its unfortunate that it happened but nothing shocking.

1. Not being married can be an issue.

2. White girl + Indian guy = always stand out.

3. Cops might have wanted money, they might have the angle that either one of you was soliciting sex and catching you guys would mean a payout.

It might be a bustling tourist enclave but that does not ,necessarily, mean things are different, you could face the same obstacles/hurdles as you would anywhere else in the country.

__________________
Cheers!
Sidharth

Indiamike Mod team............the new kid on the block!

puchoo.wordpress.com

pundabee

Indian/non-Indian couples are not prohibited from sharing a room. As long as they are married. The reason the hotels are asking whether or not you are married is because they perceive it to be unlikely that a foreign woman is married to an Indian man. And if the hotel are caught accommodating an unmarried couple sharing a room they will be committing a "crime" for which a significant bribe would have to be paid. This rule is, of course, applicable to any couple irrespective of nationality (except same sex couples who, paradoxically, have an advantage here). So, it simply is too risky for the hotels to allow you to stay there.

The conclusion is that you should pretend that you are married, and if asked it is not a requirement in your country that you take on your husband's name.

dontstop99

Are you saying it's illegal in India for unmarried couples to share a hotel room? I faced a similar situation in Kolkata, India once.

__________________
-AJ

puchoo

I dont think its illegal but frowned up definitely.

mairangi_vice

Im a white guy with an indian girl, so the inverse situation. We usually pretend to be married, and havent faced many problems over this.

I did get in trouble in Paharganj a couple of months ago though, by putting an Indian address down when I signed in. The manager could not get his head around the fact that my permanent address is in India. He came to our room 2 or 3 times asking the same questions, insisting that I should put a foreign address, as I am obviously a foreigner. Very strange.

zoltan

In reading your post a couple of times, it's highly likely that one of the touts alerted the police, hoping for some kickbacks.

In cases like this, it can help to wear a ring and make out like you are married - it just helps to alleviate some of the angst that may arise.

Cheers
Zoltan

__________________
India (and other) photos click here

abhi182

Technically, there is nothing illegal with a married couple sharing a room or an apartment or whatever and there is quite a large number of such couples in Delhi

The problem is that Paharganj is a rather infamous area and there is a good chance of this supposed couple (married or otherwise) not being a real couple

I and my girlfriend have travelled pretty much all around the country without any hassles (we do look like a married couple now, but found it difficult to pass off as married till a few years ago (we looked too young to be married)
The only trick is to avoid notorious areas like Paharganj (Or the hotels in & around Howrah)

__________________
My Winter Leh trip Photos

EL ES DEE

Paharganj is famous for drugs and foreign prostitution in the past there have been instances when the local delhi couples booked rooms so that they can have sex because they had no other place to do this...this slowly caught attention and Cops are very strict in this area nowdays, ofcourse it not illegal for an unmarried couple to stay in india, but it sure is not easy for such couples to book a room in paharganj... same is the case in karol bagh and less frowned upon 5 star hotels.

If one or both are indians then all these problems come out..i have seen white-white couples staying together in paharganj, but if a indian is involved then they need to know if that person is married. Prostitution/Drugs/Awareness are the 3 causes.