New Delhi (dpa) – A major right-wing Hindu organization in India announced it was replacing its trademark khaki shorts with brown trousers, a move aimed at modernizing its dress code and boosting its appeal to the youth.
Members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) gather for morning drills across Indian towns and cities, wearing a pair of knee-length khaki shorts, a white shirt and a black airman’s cap.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) members perform as they take part in an educational and physical training camp in Bhopal, India, in June 2012. The group announced Sunday it will swap its trademark khaki shorts for full-length pants, out of fears potential young members might opt not to join the group because they don’t like the look of the shorts.
The RSS is the ideological fountainhead of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and several ministers, including Premier Narendra Modi, have been its members in the past.
“We have decided to replace khaki half pants with brown pants,” RSS general secretary Suresh Joshi told reporters at the end of an RSS meet in the northern state of Rajasthan on Sunday.
“We are not rigid and move in sync with the times. Any mass organization cannot grow without change.”
The sartorial change dominated headlines in India even as senior RSS leaders backed the move, saying the loose khaki shorts were deterring young men from joining the organization.
“They were afraid that wearing the baggy shorts will invite teasing. The subject (of changing the shorts) has been under debate for some years,” a senior RSS functionary told broadcaster NDTV.
RSS, which has several million members, claims it is a cultural organization that works to promote Hindu culture. But its critics say it attempts to polarize ties between Hindus and Muslims, which stokes communal tension in the country.
The RSS has faced bans at least three times, the first after Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated in 1948 by Hindu fanatic Nathuram Godse, who was once an RSS member.
