British Rule and Dress Code

BRITISH RULE AND DRESS CODE:

In different cultures, specific items of clothing often convey contrary meanings. This leads to misunderstanding and conflict.

Styles of clothing in British India changed through such conflicts.

THE TURBAN:

The turban in India was not just for protection from the heat but was a sign of respectability and could not be removed at will. But in the Western tradition, the hat to be removed before social superiors as a sign of respect.

This cultural difference sometimes created misunderstanding.

The British were often offended if Indians did not take off their turban when they met colonial officials.

WEARING OF SHOES:

Another such conflict related to the wearing of shoes. Earlier, British officials had to follow Indian etiquette and remove their footwear in the courts of ruling kings or chiefs.

Some British officials also wore Indian clothes.

But 1830, Europeans were forbidden from wearing Indian clothes at official functions, so that the cultural identity time, Indians were expected to wear Indian clothes to office and follow Indian dress codes.

Controversy Over Taking Off Shoes:

In 1824 - 1828, Governor General Amherst order that Indians should take off their shoes as a sign of respect when they appeared before him. But this order was not strictly followed.

Lord Dalhousie, made it mandatory that Indians were made to take off their shoes when entering any government institution. Only those who wore European clothes were exempted from this rule.

In 1862, Manockjee Cowasjee Entee, an assessor in the Surat Fouzdaree Adawlut, refused to take off his shoes in the court of sessions judge. He was restricted to enter into the courtroom and he sent a letter of protest to the Governor of Bombay. This incident led many controversies.

Indians urged that taking off shoes in sacred places an homes was linked with following two reasons:

There was the problem of dirt. Shoes collected the dirt on the road. This dirt could not be allowed into spaces that were clean, particularly when people in Indian homes sat on the ground.

Leather shoes and the dirt that stuck under it were seen as polluting.

But public buildings like the courtrooms were different from home. It took many years for Indians to enter courtroom wearing shoes.

The Turban on the Head:

The Mysore turban, called peta, was edged with gold lace and adopted as part of the Durbar dress of the Mysore court in the mid-19th century.

By the end of the 19th century, a wide variety of officials, teachers and artists in Mysore began wearing the turban sometimes with the Western suit, as a sign of belonging to the princely state.

Today, the Mysore turban is used largely on ceremonial occasions and to honour visiting dignitaries.

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Language - Hindi/English

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The Story of Cricket I

Clothing A Social History

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Peasants and Farmers I