Man drags Indian Airlines to court over moustache

New Delhi: Joynath Victor De, a retired Indian Airlines employee, is so fond of his moustache that he is defending it in court after he says it lost him his job with the airline.

"I know I am up against a mighty organisation," De said by telephone from Kolkata. "But it has been my battle to retain my moustache for the last 10 years and I am going to see the end of it." This week, the Supreme Court asked Air India, whether the size of a person's moustache is valid grounds for dismissal, De and media reports said.

"I am from Benares, Uttar Pradesh, where a well-groomed moustache is a sign of a person's manliness and virility," De said, using the local name for the holy city of Varanasi. "There are other social reasons to consider as well. If a person suddenly shaves off his moustache then people automatically assume that there has been a death in the family," he said, referring to a Hindu tradition.

De joined Indian Airlines in 1968 as a flight steward and went on to become an assistant manager in 1994.

Trouble started when a 1998 circular required that airlines employees be clean-shaven and moustaches not exceed a certain size - De's moustache is wide and curly.

Only Sikhs were exempt from the rule. "I was asked by my company to follow suit or face action," De said.

"When I refused, the company grounded me from flying in 1999." He says he was given administrative work to do, and received only three-quarters of his salary. In 2002, De says the airline forced him to take early retirement.

The airline's decision was upheld by the Calcutta High Court. When contacted, an Air India official said the company could not comment as the matter was still before the court. De said he was offered honorary membership of the London Handlebar Club after it came to know of his plight over the Internet.

It has written to the airline in support of De, he said. De said it is ironic that the company's mascot -- The Maharajah -- has a lustrous, black moustache. "If Air India's mascot the 'Maharajah' can keep his moustache, why can't I?" he said.