Quick Take | Threads of irony

The decision to discontinued the Indian Railway Service officers' Bandhgala uniform sounds simple. The garment’s journey is not

Prime Minister Narendra Modi famously donned the Bandhgala suit upon his five-day visit to Japan in 2014 (File Photo | Express )

On January 9, the government discontinued the black Bandhgala as the formal uniform for Indian Railway Service officers. The aim was to clear official spaces of colonial symbols and reshape work culture in Indian terms. The decision sounds simple. The garment’s journey is not. The Bandhgala’s origins lie in princely Rajputana. The ancient angrakha acquired colonial airs thanks to the tailors of London’s Savile Row, who refined its cut. Today, it blends Indian aesthetics with British formal-wear sensibilities; it’s acceptable as formal Indian attire. That is where the irony rests. Narendra Modi himself renewed its appeal by wearing it in Japan in 2014. Sometimes, meaning shifts quietly, even when intentions are loud.