Some time ago much was made in the media of a dress code order by some Kanpur Colleges. Female students were not allowed anymore to wear jeans or other western attire. A lot of eve teasing had happened right at the gate of the colleges and the management felt that the way the students dressed, encouraged eve teasing. The media took up the cause. They felt that it was an infringement on the personal freedom of the students and quoted some girls who supported this view. The new dress code sans jeans was called draconian – a strong word.
I am also all for personal freedom and would not wish anybody to dictate to me what to wear or what not. Yet recently I realized that there is already a strict dress code in force that especially students of both sexes have to follow whether they like it or not, and no media takes up their cause:
I was waiting for a Vikram, as the noisy three wheelers which can accommodate up to ten passengers are called in Dehradun. A young woman, dressed in jeans and T-Shirt, entered the Vikram together with me and sitting there she complimented me on wearing a salwar kamis. “It looks good on you”, she remarked and I said “And it is so comfortable.”
“Yes, it is true. I would also like to wear it, but my friends in college will make fun of me”, she replied.
I felt reminded of my student days in Hamburg in the 70s. “Peer pressure” was even then an unquestionable authority. Nobody dared to disobey it if one did not want to be considered old fashioned. Blue jeans, preferably a black pullover and sneakers were then the dress code for students – male and female. Well, this was actually not bad for us, as Germany is a cold country and anyway we had only the option between trousers and skirts. Both were tight at the waist and uncomfortable while sitting in the classroom. We had not discovered the ingenuity of a garment that can be adjusted like a salwar or a sari for that matter.
In the 80s, when jeans and sneakers became popular in India, I was astonished that youngsters were voluntarily sweating it out even in the heat of the Delhi summer. I would not have dreamt of wearing jeans in that climate. In those days very few girls were wearing jeans, but in the last 20 years an amazing job of promoting this attire was done. I had not quite realized it, but after the remark of my fellow traveler in the Vikram, I looked around. It was amazing: each and every girl who seemed from a ‘better off’ background wore jeans. Some might feel more comfortable in a salwar kamis, but then, the dress code has to be followed, even if it means to be uncomfortable or to snub one’s parents.
Once for example I was in a bus. A mother in a sari and her daughter in low waist jeans and a top that did not reach where the jeans started entered. The girl sat next to me, the mother on the opposite side. The bus got full. A young man planted himself firmly next to the girl looking intently down on her. She felt obviously uncomfortable and gave him angry looks. And though she kept pulling at her top there was no way she could close that gap between top and jeans. I sensed that the mother was not happy with the way her daughter dressed and wondered what type of discussions would be going on in their home. Yet peer pressure got the better of the daughter. Frankly, I felt she would have looked better in a salwar kamis. Not everyone looks good in jeans. Those who do will also look good in any other dress and those who don’t will in all likelihood look better in a salwar kamis.
Recently I saw four girls coming towards me. Three of them wore jeans and T shirt and one a white salwar kamis with a colourful dupatta. That girl clearly stood out. Well, maybe I am just old fashioned. Or maybe a westerner is better placed of taking up the cause of freedom from peer pressure, as the pressure is mainly about following western mores:
“Now, after seeing you wearing a salwar kamis I will also take courage to wear it”, the girl in the Vikram told me before she left. I don’t know whether she actually found the courage.
by Maria Wirth
25 Comments
Namaste… Pranam,
Have read some of your good articles. Feels astonishing that though it is difficult to develop any interest in such an abstract subject that to targettedly maligned and misinterpretted by the most learned and successful people around the world, you dared to spend your precious time for learning it – the Hindu way of life.
I always had a question in my mind… Whether the physical development around us what we experience around us like that from Highways, Aeroplanes, Telecommunications, e-commerce and the coming next generation developments would have been possible if we stuck up with these abstract things for centuries together? I pose this query to you also…
You must surely have thought over this since you represent the developed part of the world.
Historically, feudal, Zamindaari, official and sundry elite India tended to imitate the dress and other cultural habits of the rulers. India lost its freedom to lead its life as it wished for about 700-800 years, first under Muslim occupation and later under the colonial rule. Political independence from colonial rule did not result in full decolonization of the Indian mind. A manifestation of this situation is the presumption of youth and the upwardly mobile population is that economic empowerment, education and modernization mean westernization. More pointedly, for example, women wearing loose fitting clothes which still do credit to their figure and appearance besides being comfortable, tend to be seen by the west-faced women “liberals” as “lacking in freedom” and not as exercising choice.
In a lighter vein, if tomorrow a sizeable percentage of women in the West start wearing salwar kamiz Indian women will start doing the same. Of course what I say is applicable to men too! I find it utterly ridiculous and absurdly funny that TV men anchors on the Indian TV wearing pant, coat and tie! By the way is it not ridiculous that some Indian fashion designers invent sarees that look more un-Indian than Indian? One does see that Pakistan is doing far better than India in this regard. India and Indians have a long way to go still to regain their self esteem.
R.Venkatanarayanan
Dogmatic religions (Christianity and Islam) have greatly stifled science and technology. It took off in the west only after religions were separated from the state and could not dictate any longer what is the truth, i.e. when the states became secular (not the Indian variety of secular). Actually science took help from ancient Indian knowledge, just see how for example German physicists referred to Indian scriptures. If Indians had taken serious their ancient axioms, for example that this world is Brahman, and Brahman is best described as pure consciousness, they could have made path breaking discoveries before the west. (Please see my article on? India?s wisdom and modern science? on this blog).
In India, science was never stifled by Dharma, on the contrary. The decline in India was due to foreign domination and the destruction of the Indian education system. India?s contribution to maths, metallurgy, astronomy, medicine, etc. is unparalleled. You have had and still have amazing brains. It is another story that they are not getting awarded. Many of them were highly dharmic. I mentioned in my article ?What will the world think of us? that the great mathematician Ramanujan openly said that his family deity tells him the solutions. It is definitely advantageous for a clear intellect to acknowledge that great invisible intelligence and power behind the visible. Insights don?t come from the mind, but from a place beyond.
It suited the British to portray India?s wisdom as otherworldly. It is sad, that, Indians don?t know their tradition anymore. Still there is hope, since gradually an appreciation of India?s treasure is growing and many young people study again Sanskrit. Indians still have an advantage, as Sanskrit is closer to their languages than for westerners. They have another advantage as well. They are free to think and don?t grow up either with the fear of eternal hell or with no orientation at all.
Maria Wirth
Namaste Maria,
I think the root cause of this and many of such problems is the slave mindset nurtured by our education.
The British ruling have successfully injected deep in our society the psyche that whatever comes from west is correct and it is symbol of modernism. The girl you met could also gather courage when she saw you, a westerner, who doesn?t feel ashamed of wearing Salwar Kamis. Pl. note illiterate, village based India doesn?t have this problem. Irony is the intellectuals, celebrities, media and popular people around us, with whom we get influenced very easily are all seem ?advocating? west. Yogasana was rubbished in it?s own birthplaces, labled Old fashioned, communal ?etc, etc. However same yogasana come back from West in form of ?Yoga?, people stated respecting, because now west started respecting. ?Ayourveda? has same story.
Key thing is coming out of the mental block of we are inferior and west is superior. Yes, we must study see what others are doing rejecting anything out rightly is equally wrong. Look at what other?s have done check if it suits you, in a better way that the existing solution. Then accept and adapt nothing wrong in that, but for this one needs to have independent thinking which slave mentality cannot have.
Dear Madam,
I liked your article, it is really focusing on the current situation in India. After reading your article i remembered a situation, my experience just two weeks back, I went out for dinner with my family in a restaurant, one marwadi family entered the restaurant. they were four people husband wife and their son and daughter, the girl was around 20. she was wearing a short skirt and she was feeling uncomfortable while walking and even while sitting she was trying to be comfortable, but her parents were not feeling anything. My father told me, marwadi community people are famous for their long dresses and their tradition of taking dupatta on face infront of other people. but now a days as you said “peer pressure” even marwadi community girls have forgotten their tradition.
Thank You Madam for this post. Actually most of the thinking Indians are fully fedup with theses types of foolishness happening in India. We are eager to change the mind set of common India. Slowly but effectively there is change.. The new generation will find an option to root out these types of issues..
We have hope. India is changing.. Pls dont miss a chance to refine and reform Great India..
Thanks a lot for the post
[…] Jeans in the Indian summer?. […]
Hi,
There are many places in India which look down upon girls wearing western attire.
I couldn’t help noticing that all the posts supporting Indian dresses are from Indian males. I wonder how many of them wear traditional dhotis everyday.
Women should have the freedom to wear what they want to subject to codes of decency. Did you happen to notice that a sari bares more skin than a top that barely reaches the jeans?
Places in India that allow women to wear western dresses are very few. The backward mindset that women who wear western dresses should be subjected to sexual harassment is what needs to go.
There are women who do not feel comfortable in Indian dresses as they are overtly restrictive. There is no pressure of following western norms, on the contrary women who are bold enough to do so are heavily criticised.
It is amusing to read some of the comments … but I guess the “dress” brings all kinds of opinions and prejudices to the fore. Personally, I think people, man or woman, should be given the choice to wear what they want. The perception of “decency” and “indecency” is a subjective thing – both spring forth in the mind of the perceiver, but comfort is more objective. Basically the decision for opting a dress or the lack of it should be with the wearer.
If we are talking of traditional attire in South India, where the climate has been generally warm, there was little to speak of. The sporty attire of South Indian kings was merely a loin cloth. It was the main dress of most men and very practical and sensible in this kind of weather. This was the dress of choice of most men of action. Women generally went bare-breasted with a piece of cloth around their waist, which too was very practical and I assume, in such a world, no male would ogle or make a pass and make a woman uncomfortable. After all our bodies are natural, aren?t they? It is our minds that make it vulgar or bad.
[…] the Vikram told me before she left. I don?t know whether she actually found the courage. – Maria With Blog, 6 April […]
Jeans have always had a stigma attached to them. Perhaps it is because they were originally poor man?s / workman?s / juvenile delinquent?s (rowdy?s) clothing.
Fifty years ago nobody was allowed to wear jeans in the Canadian high school I attended. My parents did not allow me to own a pair either. I bought my first pair of jeans after leaving the family house. Some years later, I sold the faded, ragged pants in New Delhi for Rs 500. It was a lot of money in 1967. The buyers were ecstatic at their good luck in getting authentic faded, torn jeans from the West.
En route to India, riding the Orient Express from Paris to Istanbul, I helped Yugoslav students smuggle jeans from Italy to Ljubljana in Slovenia. The students would distribute the jeans they had bought in Trieste among the British and American train passengers at the Yugoslav border, and after we had passed through customs collect them again. This was to avoid paying the exorbitant tax Yugoslavia levied on ?decadent? western clothing.
Attitudes have not changed very much today (though Gujarat cloth mills now produce the best denim in the world for export to the West).
None of the five colleges in the Tamil Nadu town where I stay allows students to wear jeans. They are warned the first time they are caught wearing jeans on campus, fined the second time, and expelled the third time!
Hello Maria,
While I agree wholeheartedly with you on most of what you say in favor of Hinduism and though I share your enthusiasm about preserving and promoting the all-embracing essence of Hindu thought, I have a beef with you on this issue of associating dress codes with ‘Hinduness’. I do not know about the West, Maria, but in India these issues have deeper connotations. All this brouhaha about imitation of Western mores corrupting the Indian youth?especially women, mind you?is just a cover for the most obnoxious form of discrimination that has been practised in the history of mankind, namely, male chauvinism. If that were not the case, how would you explain illiterate morons (illiterate both in the secular and the religious sense) lamenting the loss of values and the degeneration of ancient Indian (read Hindu) culture when these worthies themselves may not know how to chant the gayatri mantra or would draw a blank if they were asked some questions on the upanishads or the puranas. The only sensible reason as to why humans need to be moral is offered in ancient Vedantic thought, and to a lesser extent in other ‘Indic’ religions (Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism). Unlike the Abrahamic faiths, the Vedantic Hindu thought does not start with some fantastic, unscientific theories (creation of universe in 7 days about 5,000 years ago by a personal god who is male, separate from his creation and with strong likes and dislikes, to quote you) and then go on to dictate commandments to mankind, without explaining as to why, in the first instance, should anyone be moral and altruistic. This lack of motivation for being good is why Communism also failed. Hindu Dharma starts with a very scientific enquiry into the nature and origin of life and then through a process of perception, inference, comparison, and testimony arrives at the conclusion that this manifold manifestation is permeated by one energy or awareness and that all including the human being is divine, because all is ultimately Brahman. Now this explains the true significance of Christian aphorisms like “love your neighbour like thyself”, “what you do unto your neighbour, that you do unto me” which Christianity itself failed to explain. If you thought I was digressing, then let me bring you back to the topic. If the reason why people (men) in our country emphasize on such restrictions on personal feedom is to inculcate a high sense of morality aimed at the ultimate spiritual goal of self-realization and mukti, then I support you totally and unreservedly. But do you really think this is the case, Maria? And pray tell me why only women are made to bear this cross, while men go around with their world-affirming ways, unrestricted, unchained? What about Jesus’ advice to the men who attacked a woman for leading an immoral life? What did the Buddha tell men who tried to stop him from visiting a prostitute’s house when the later had invited, out of pure devotion, the Enlightened One for lunch at her place? Or close to our times what would ou say about the following incident:
“During his long wanderings throughout India, Swami Vivekananda was in Khetri and was the guest of Maharaja of Khetri (in present Rajastan). One night Swamiji was invited to a musical entertainment by a dancing girl. Swamiji refused to attend as it was against the rules of monastic discipline. The dancing girl led a pious life and adored Swamiji. She felt very much humiliated but started singing the composition of Surdas, the great Vaishnava Saint.
“O! Lord look not upon my evil qualities!
You are known for same-sightedness
One piece of iron makes image in the temple
Another is the knife in the hand of the butcher;
But when they touch the philosopher”s stone
Both turn into gold”
These lines reached clearly Swamiji’s ears who was residing in the nearby tent. He was immediately reminded of the Vedantic doctrine that Divinity dwells in all and knows no distinction of caste, creed, color or sex. Immediately he got up and joined the party.Bengali biography of Swami Vivekananda further adds. He said to himself that even he, an ascetic thought that he was a Sannyasin, a superior one and the singer, a depraved woman. “I have not yet got rid of such feeling of distinction “(bheda-jnana)”. He went to the woman and said, “Mother! I am guilty. Earlier I hated you. . . . . . your song opened my eyes”.”
Women have, even in the West, Maria, got the right to vote only in the 1960s. While the West moved ahead, we in India are still stuck in the mire of regressive mindsets. Women have fought with their blood, sweat, and tears to gain the modicum of freedom and dignity that they have today. They should not for any reason fritter away what they have rightfully gained no matter how lofty be the reasons presented for subjugating them.
Hari Krishnanand,
It seems you saw issues in my article that were not there. I simply wanted to point out that I discovered that there is a strict dress code in force especially among college students ? boys as well as girls – which they have to adhere to, if they don?t want to be considered old-fashioned. This dress code is kind of enforcing jeans. Now, whenever a college ?restricts? girls not to wear jeans, the media take it up in a big way and defend the right of the girls to wear jeans in college. However, when girls themselves would be happy to wear salwar instead of jeans, but don?t even dare to say so, because they are afraid of being made fun of, why not point out this pressure and give them courage? Media wants them to get into tight jeans even at 40 degress Celsius. It clearly is more of a torture than liberating. If jeans were aesthetically and from the comfort point of view an improvement, nothing against them. But they are not, and certainly not in the Indian summer. So why support an uniform appearance all over the world, when it is not suitable to local climate conditions? Let them wear jeans in northern India in the winter. In South India, wearing them will most of the time be uncomfortable.
How pervasive the ads and media influence is especially on well to do people to copy the western style, I noticed recently, when I was in a shop and 3 women in their 50s came in ? all three of them wearing jeans. They probably considered themselves very modern…
Maria
Aesthetics, comfort, climate and resisting peer pressure are all valid arguments. No issues here. And, no, I am not for a moment questioning your objectivity either. But, as I said earlier, I would not be very sure of the motives of our authorities and men in questioning women on wearing jeans or any other dress of their choice. That was the moot point. Besides, for all that you say about media and peer pressure, which is largely true, it cannot be denied that choosing what to wear falls within the ambit of personal freedom guaranteed in the Constitution of our country. Even assuming that our media becomes more objective in their approach and are not blindly influenced by Western tastes, do you seriously expect them to support institutions and organizations “banning” people from wearing a dress of their choice and thus adopt an anti-contitutional stance? The moment you give into such diktats, Maria, you are surrendering yourselves and many others like you, to the tyranny of people who would like everyone to see the world in the colors they perceive. That is simply not done. I understand that you want to point out to the prevalence of a mindset that tends to glorify everything western and subtly co-opt others into their way of living by creating a fear of rejection (in case they do not confrom) in their minds. That too is tyranny, that too is thought policing. Agreed. That needs to be condemned. True. All that I am saying is that being forced to choose between two tyrannical mindsets is hardly a choice. Assuming that everyone who wears jeans is doing so just to conform to peer pressure and media hype is just as erroneous and trite as saying that everyone who wears jeans is doing it because they are genuinely comfortable in that dress. Besides, jeans has its virtues. It is a hardy material and less prone to wear and tear. It can also be re-worn and re-used without being washed after single use. Also, all jeans are not really tight-fitting or figure hugging. I am a very conservative person, in my dressing and my manners. I am least fashion-conscious. But I do wear jeans occasionally, not because of any peer pressure but because I choose to. I love my country, its rich culture and spirituality (which is why I am here, reading and enjoying your blogs). So how would you categorize me? Let us not make sweeping assumptions here. Let me tell you something interesting. Since I am from the Indian state of Kerala I will tell you something relating to my state. Not very long ago (before liberalization of the Indian economy and, consequentially, Indian society) even the salwar kameez that you refer to in your write-up was considered an invasion of the more permissive and modern north Indian metro culture by Keralites and people (of all ages, and mostly men) used to rue the “winds of change” that was detroying the “true Malayalee culture” wherein women used to wear “davani” (half-sari) or “jacket and pavadai” (a long blouse and a skirt that reached the ankles of the women). Now, these dresses were less figure hugging compared to a salwar kameez or churidar and hence people thought that, well, as in the case of jeans, blind acceptance of an alien dress code was destroying the native culture and the dress codes and that women were becoming less “cultured” and less “malayalee” as a result of this. By now, in spite of the initial criticism and scepticism, these dresses (churidar and salwar kameez) have become ubiquitous and people consider it very normal and even, if I may say so, a Kerala or Malayalee dress. Now faced with an invasion from western dresses e.g., jeans, people are complaining how women have forgotten and abandoned salwar kameez and churidar and saris and how they are “getting into tight jeans” and how that is “destroying” our great Indian culture!! When faced with the prospect of seeing their women adopting western wear like jeans etc. men would be thankful if women stick to salwar kameez and churidar and retain their “Indianness” or “Malayaleness”, as the case might be. Do you see my point? There is resistance to change. People like status co. Something that was considered alien and corrupting became acceptable and even indigenious over a period of time, especially when faced with the prospect of having to deal with something even more radical than the previous one. There might come a point in time when jeans may also become acceptable and ubiquitous. Besides, during and before the colonial era, when India was not mesmerized by the West, and the West itself was very conservative, dresses worn by Indian women were quite revealing compared to the sari-bouse or salwar kameez or even the tank tops Indian women wear these days. What would you say to that Maria? In certain upper class communities in Kerala women never used to cover their breasts, and there were no morality issues nor that made perverts of men any more that now. What is your take on this? Besides, if tropical climate itself was the main thrust of your argument, then it just supports the case for western dresses which do not have the disadvantage that Indian dresses have – the need to cover your body adequately, so that it looks “decent”. And western women should be wearing Indian dresses that cover the body more fully as they live in relatively colder climes. Rather than the western countries, it should be the indian beaches which should be having women strutting aroung in two-piece bikinis rather then being covered shoulder to ankle in a salwar kameez or sari. See how the cookie crumbles!
My point is simple, Maria. Rather than fret over changes in dress codes, eating habits etc., there is an urgent need to educate Indian youth about the glory of Bharat. The problem is that 600 years of Islamic rule and 200 years of British rule has thororughly demolished the “BHARATEEYATA” in Indians. They have lost their sense of history, they have forgotten their legacy. We need to re-kindle that awareness in them. India holds the promise for a better world tomorrow. With its rich past and long and unbroken civilization, which preceeded and excelled every known civilization in this world, India holds the key to a new world order that will harmonize the physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual aspects of mankind, both at the individual and collective level.
All other issues, like the one you highlight, are like passing clouds and will melt away if the core issue is addressed.
Why shalwar khameez? Why not sari? Shalwar khameez is an Islamic dress not Hindu.
The article on ?Jeans in Indian summer? throws a light on how Indian mentality is affected by this so called ?Western Glory?. Indian people still follows Western whether it is suitable to them or not. This mindset is not just restricted to the clothing though. This impact can be seen on the changing food habits, recent architecture of the developing cities of India and overall lifestyle in general. One can see that glass buildings are constructed in the cities having hot and humid climate and frequently facing problems of load shading. People prefer western/ continental breakfasts over Indian which is more suitable to the climate of India.
The problem behind this that I can see, is the fascination of the other part of the world which the people don?t belong to. The same fascination has made western people to learn Indian culture and traditions and follow them; let it be Sanskrit, yoga, Buddhism or Ayurveda.
At the end what matters is learning the things and then choosing the right thing at given time and place.
Namaste,
I understand your point and that’s why we say Traditional dress for all both males and females.It is the duty of both men and women of India to preserve the culture and tradition that our great ancestors died for.Their sacrifice is the only reason why we exist today.Generations before us have faced many persecution in their own mother land but they gave their lives to protect and preserve our traditions.Now it’s up to us to decide whether we must let all those sufferings and sacrifice go in vain and let the sacred Indian culture die?or should we protect it and preserve it from those who wants to destroy it?How big a disservice would it be to those men and women who died for our culture and our mother land if we their successors who owe every second of our life to their great sacrifices do not follow our culture?Think about it.There is a perception thanks to neo liberal leftist medias that everything traditional is so chauvinistic.But is it really so?Didn’t women like Rani Lakshmibai gave her life for this sacred land?And not just women but men should also follow it.But women is given too much importance is because Indian women are the core reason for the survival of our culture.Education a mother gives to her child has the greatest influence on his/her lives.
That’s despite over powering us with western education and English education by the missionaries and vested interest groups to this date have not yet killed of our great civilization.I understand women are concerned for their safety and hear a lot of media bashing Indian culture calling it rape culture etc.so much of propaganda might get to you.But then again are we following our Indian culture exactly today?aren’t we following a mix of western and Indian culture?but how come blame is only on Indian culture?Just think about it.
Bharat mata ki Jai!!!
Lovely post, Nice way to show your experienced. I have also some experienced which i want to express so I share these experience with my friends on facebook.
It is really sad that people in India do not seem to mature even after all the education. The problem is not with the jeans that women wear. The problem is with the attitude of men. I hope people mature and the future generation keeps an open mind.
[…] The article first appeared as – https://mariawirthblog.wordpress.com/2014/04/06/jeans-in-the-indian-summer/ […]
Ma’am, Always a pleasure to read your Articles.
One more segment of Clothes which is getting popular with Teenagers are the
Sports T-Shirts & Shorts (Adidas/Puma), Cloth Developed to be used in Cold areas of America & Europe for their wind cheating ability.
This Cloth which is ” Unbreathable & Unsuitable for the Hot Tropical Weather” has Unfortunately become Kids Favorite as Football stars wear them, Teenagers wear them, not just for Sports but everywhere. Despite the fact that it makes them Sweat.
A Decade from now these kids would grow up to wear it as Casual wear and suffering skin ailments.
Personally i feel your views were way too conservative in this. With regard to the man ogling at the girl in the short top, you needed to call out the misogyny and creepiness of Indian men instead. I personally feel that saaris look much more vulgar and are ridiculously complicated to wear than other clothes.
Society keeps evolving and ultimately we need to move on and wear clothes that we are comfortable in.
I really don’t understand the opposition to jeans in this country. It’s a clear case of patriarchy and ultra conservativism where men cannot tolerate women taking their own decisions. No Hindu religious text asks women to specifically wear a certain type of dress and I’m proud of this fact
Reblogged this on Swaminarayan Glory and commented:
This is what I mean by decency in clothes…..May God bless you!
I love your article. It is beautifuly written. I also agree with your point of view. We should take pride in our own attire and should not succumb to peer pressure
It is choice of every lady whether she want to wear western dresses or indian dress style. No one has right to judge her on her clothing if she is comfortable in her clothing.