Calcutta: Fashion designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee has apologised for saying "shame on you" to Indian women who cannot wear a sari, after days of being trolled for his remarks at the Harvard India Conference.

"To begin, allow me to sincerely apologise for the words that I used while answering impromptu questions at a conference at Harvard. I am sorry that I used the word 'shame' in reference to some women's inability to wear a sari. I truly regret that the way in which I tried to make a point about the sari enabled it to be interpreted as misogynistic, patriarchal, and non-inclusive - this was certainly not my intention," Mukherjee wrote in an open letter on Instagram on Wednesday morning.

"A woman had asked me to comment on the cultural taboo of young women wearing saris because, as she said, society tells them that it 'makes them look older'."

The designer continued: "Yet another question of ageism and the sari at Harvard triggered a lot of pent-up frustration that I have accrued for that segment of our society which constantly expresses disdain for this piece of Indian heritage. It is this frustration that I unfortunately generalised to Indian women in response to the question, when I now see that I should have framed it as a call to stop shaming the sari and whomever chooses to wear it.

"I am passionate about textiles and our heritage, and I am sorry that in the heat of that moment, I allowed this passion to be misplaced. I take full responsibility for this."

Mukherjee had come under fire on social media after he told Indian students at Harvard on Saturday: "I think, if you tell me that you do not know how to wear a sari, I would say shame on you...."

When The Telegraph contacted him on Wednesday afternoon, Mukherjee said: "We are a woman's brand and I have a huge force of women working for me. So it was very, very important for me to redeem myself and clarify things - I owe it not just to my customers and fans but to the women who work for me and my friends and family as well. We all make mistakes, and you know I am not one to shy away from admitting it. That's the sort of education that I have got from my parents, to own up when you make a mistake."

But the designer also said the issue was sensationalised.

"What happens is, when you are facing a large audience and facing the cameras, you always don't end up saying what you would want to say. I am not defending myself at all, it was wrong of me to say what I said, but the press and social media sensationalised and distorted what I said. For people with a voice in society, today it has become difficult to live in society without being trolled.... What I said was wrong, but it has been made into an inflammatory issue and I have been hanged on social media and labelled a criminal, called a misogynist, patriarchal and what not," he said.

The letter was appreciated by many on social media. One Instagram user wrote: "Thank you for this. I love your work and am an avid follower, but this did upset me. But well, your words have provided comfort - and after all, it happens to all of us." But not everyone was impressed. A Twitter user wrote: "I may be wrong but #Sabyasachi's #apology sounded distinctly like a #Fauxpology to me#."