The decision to result in the most noticeable change in dress was taken in March this year.
Nagpur: Over nine decades after it was founded by Kesava Rao Baliram Hedgewar in 1925, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) will finally drop its khaki shorts and transform into a new uniform including full-length dark khaki pants from Dassehra Day this year.
A consignment of the first lot of 10,000 sets of the new ‘ganvesh’ (uniform) – including the standard white shirt, black cap, a black leather belt, a pair of dark brown socks and black shoes, the signature bamboo cane – and now, as well as full-length dark khaki trousers – went on sale at a shop near the RSS headquarters in Reshimbaug here on Monday.
The decision to effect the most visible change in attire was taken in March this year at the RSS’s Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS) in Nagaur, Rajasthan, presided over by Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat. Nevertheless, the real change comes after almost a decade of debates, across the country feedback from the grass roots activists and internal surveys. Prior, changing with the times, the RSS, way back in 1940, had changed from a khaki shirt to a white shirt, and in 2010 from the coarse canvas belts to thick leather belts.
The newest change has evoked combined reactions from amongst the veteran RSS activists and the new generation – a young activist happily posed in the new outfit for media individuals at the outlet.The new full pants – costing around Rs 250 – have been tailored by an RSS regular stylist, in Akola, Rajasthan, and his 40-strong team plans to send around 50,000 pieces to Nagpur by Dassehra (Vijayadashmi) to be celebrated in October this year.
