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Women smart but men are smarter

Yes, dresses used by politicians on Indian political stage display their distinct regional, political as well as social identity in contrast to attire used by western politicians being more or less similar.

Dresses of men members of US Congress and British Parliament are primarily confined to suits and of women to dress-skirts.

Of course, cufflinks together with quality of ties worn by men and jewellery displayed by women in addition to their boots, shoes or sandals cannot be missed. But that’s it. At least, this is the impression one gathers after briefly surveying dresses worn by Indian politicians. Amazingly, where variety in their dress designs is concerned, Indian men take the lead globally and also against women politicians at home.

Women legislators’ dress is limited to either the Indian saree or three-piece salwar-kameez suit. Nevertheless, even these simple dresses cannot be missed because of their bright prints/colours. If ladies opt for plain colors, their hair-styles, jewellery, make-up and the dress itself cannot be ignored. If Congress high command Sonia Gandhi’s saree stands out for all folds being in place, that of Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Bannerjee for usually being a little crumpled.

The assumption that men across the globe are not as fashion and/dress conscious as women stands shattered when Indian politicians are glanced at. It would not be wrong to say that dressing up for men is most probably more time consuming than for women on the Indian political stage.

Undeniably, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s kurta-pyjama with the Indian jacket appears fairly simple. It is—but the same cannot be said about several yards of his blue headdress meticulously folded and pinned as a turban.

White colour seems to be most popular and common among practically all Indian male politicians. Sparklingly white, carefully starched and ironed with barely a crease out of line cannot be missed whether it is State Minister Salman Khursheed or heir apparent Rahul Gandhi’s kurta-pyjama or traditional dhotis/lungis worn by quite a few lawmakers.

The latter include Home Minister P Chidambaram, Defence Minister A K Antony, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh among several others, with each wearing it differently. Chidambaram wears a long shirt with a dhoti that is commonly used by Tamils, the regional community he hails from. Antony’s dress is similar to that used in his native state, Kerala. Lalu and Mulayam wear kurtas with their dhoti-styles reflecting those used by people in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, respectively. Believe it or not, even dhotis worn by legislators from different states have distinctly different styles. So do the shawls thrown across their shoulders. Antony’s falls in front from behind his neck, while Chidamabaram holds it on one shoulder. The same can be said about different designs of jackets and caps worn by many.

Several politicians, including Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and BJP leader Jaswant Singh vary their dresses, from kurta-pyjama to safari-suits. When occasion demands Mukherjee wears the Bengali dhoti and Azad sports a sherwani (the long knee-length coat). Sherwani is the dress-code for Vice-President Hamid Ansari, who is also the chairperson of Rajya Sabha, upper house of parliament.

Undeniably, even part of the dress like Congress cap, chequered Palestinian scarf, Islamic caps/veils and the small Jewish cap serve as effective communication tools. Being cultural symbols, the dress instantly work as propaganda tools for politicians to influence the people and help latter identify themselves with the former.

History is witness to Mahatma Gandhi abandoning the western attire for dhoti, the traditional Indian dress. Likewise, M A Jinnah, long impeccably dressed like a British lord, began wearing sherwani when Pakistan achieved independence.

In today’s age, the media, especially 24x7 television, has only enhanced the significance of dress as a political tool. Where their attire is concerned, the same political code is followed by Chidambaram, Lalu Prasad and others. Be it sherwani, the jacket, different kind of dhoti, kurta-pyjama, safari suit or simply a distinct cap, turban, style of wearing the shawl, each politician has his dress code to identify himself with the class he belongs to. It is amazing but true that the sartorial choices made by men have greater variety and more styles than those used by women politicians in the world’s largest democracy.

Nilofar Suhrawardy is an Indian journalist and author of Ayodhya Without Communal Stamp, In the Name of Indian Secularism