Dropping Shorts For Pants: Sale of New RSS Uniform Finally Begins

The move to change the trademark uniform is taking place after a span of almost eight decades.

The move to change the trademark uniform is happening after a span of almost eight decades. (Photo: The Quint)

The sale of Rashtriya Swayamswak Sangh’s (RSS) new uniform began at its Nagpur head office on Monday.

Dropping the trademark khakhi shorts for full length trousers, the organisers took this decision at meeting of the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha, its highest decision-making body in March. The pants have been stitched in Rajasthan’s Akola town.

The move marks a huge shift for the organisation for the shorts had become an easily recognisable symbol for the body.

Tailors stitching the new RSS uniforms. (Photo: ANI)

The RSS anticipates that 10,000 trousers will be sold in Nagpur before Dussehra, reported Maharashtra Times. The new uniform will be sported at the annual Dusshera function of the RSS.

The decision is understood to have been a result of youngsters’ reluctance from joining the organisation because of the ‘embarrassing’ shorts.

The change in uniform is also significant because it’s happening after almost eight decades. From its inception in 1925 till 1939, the Sangh had an all-khaki uniform, and it was only in 1940, that the white shirts were introduced.

(With inputs from Maharashtra Times and ANI.)