Power Dressing

Their fashion choices are lampooned by those who do not understand them, but for India’s foremost politicians, personal style is more than image—it is armour, says Pramod Kumar KG

- Pramod Kumar KG

The sartorial preferences of India’s political class have, until recently, almost always been dominated by references to Mahatma Gandhi and khadi. While this may have been reflective of the truth for the decades after independence, the scenario today is drastically different, with over 45 per cent of the population below the age of 24 and with no direct connect with either the freedom movement or the impassioned patriotism that khadi sought to invoke. While male politicians have largely stuck to the kurta pyjama with little consideration for style, the only significant change seems to be that khadi has given way to linen. However, much attention has been paid to the clothing choices of female politicians—albeit most of it derisive, and without any serious engagement.

Since independence, India has had a female president and a prime minister, besides over 16 women chief ministers and several others appointed as governors. Surprisingly, most conversations are still limited to the elegant choices of the Gandhi ladies, who continue to favour khadi and handloom textiles. However, there are three other ladies who have dominated the political space in contemporary India, and they have fashioned themselves in entirely different moulds. Their choice of garments, colours and silhouettes are all careful constructs that subliminally inform and help maintain curated auras. It is therefore astonishing that most commentary in popular culture seems to be centred around lampooning the handbag that Mayawati is always seen with, the Dhaniakhali cotton sari and rubber flip-flops that Mamata Banerjee prefers, or the cape-like fabric that the late Jayalalithaa adopted.