At a time when farmer suicides dominate the news, the monogrammed suit has become a millstone around PM Narendra Modi’s neck. No wonder Rahul Gandhi won some media and public traction by accusing the government of being a “suit-boot“ sarkar. Of course he must know that Congressmen themselves are highly suitedbooted, too, and the Congress’s designer moralism of poverty, such as excursions to Dalit homes, is itself an injustice to the poor.
Modi’s wardrobe signals a social escape from his chaiwallah origins, a sartorial social transition being made by millions of upwardly mobile Indians. Uppercaste male editors jeered at Mayawati’s pink salwarkameezes and diamonds. How can a Dalit woman wear such fancy attire, they sniggered. But the old elite needs to Read More
