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The Gandhi cap as worn by Jawaharlal Nehru.
The Gandhi cap (Hindi: Gandhi topi) is a white coloured cap, pointed in front and back and having a wide band. It is made out of khadi. It takes its name after the Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi, who first popularised its use during the Indian independence movement. Worn commonly by Indian independence activists, it became a symbolic tradition for politicians and political activists to wear it in independent India.
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Genesis
Caps of similar design and material have been worn throughout history by the people of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka and other parts of India. Such caps are still worn by a large segment of Indian society without any political significance. The cap gained significance after it was regularly donned by Gandhi, whose popularity was rising fast. Gandhi’s homespun khadi attire of traditional Indian clothes were symbolic of his message of cultural pride, the use of Swadeshi goods (as opposed to those manufactured in Europe), self-reliance and solidarity with India’s rural masses. The cap became common to most followers of Gandhi and members of the Indian National Congress. A connection to the independence movement was implied when any individual wore the cap in those times.
Similar caps of black colour were adopted as uniform by the activists of the Hindu Mahasabha and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Nationalist leader Subhash Chandra Bose wore a khaki, brown coloured cap of the same design to symbolise his militarist convictions and generalship of the Indian National Army.
Post-independence
The first generation of post-independence Indian politicians were almost universally members of the freedom struggle. Gandhi’s death in 1948 gave an emotional importance to the Gandhi cap, which was regularly worn by Indian leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister. Succeeding prime minister such as Lal Bahadur Shastri and Morarji Desai would continue the tradition. Most members of the Indian Parliament (especially politicians and activists of the Congress party) wore khadi clothing and the Gandhi cap. Large numbers of people donned the cap when celebrating India’s independence on August 15 or the promulgation of a republic on January 26.
In recent times, the cap has lost its popular and political appeal. Although many members of the Congress party continue the tradition, rival political parties prefer to dissociate themselves from the tradition linked with the Congress. The mass acceptance of Western-style clothing has also diminished the importance of wearing Indian-style clothes for politicians.
See also
Indian independence movement
History
Colonisation · British East India Company · Plassey · Buxar · Anglo-Mysore Wars · Anglo-Maratha Wars (First · Second · Third) · First Anglo-Sikh War · Second Anglo-Sikh War · British India · French India · Portuguese India · more
Philosophies
and ideologies
Indian nationalism · Swaraj · Adi Dharm · Brahmoism · Gandhism · Satyagraha · Hindu nationalism · Indian Muslim nationalism · Swadeshi · Socialism · Khilafat Movement
Events and
movements
Rebellion of 1857 · Partition of Bengal · Revolutionaries · Delhi-Lahore Conspiracy · The Indian Sociologist · Ghadar Conspiracy · Champaran and Kheda · Jallianwala Bagh Massacre · Non-Cooperation · Qissa Khwani bazaar massacre · Flag Satyagraha · Bardoli · 1928 Protests · Nehru Report · Purna Swaraj · Salt Satyagraha · Round table conferences · Act of 1935 · Legion Freies Indien · Cripps’ mission · Quit India · Indian National Army · Bombay Mutiny · Coup d’État de Yanaon · Provisional Government of India
Organisations
Indian National Congress · Anushilan Samiti · Jugantar · India House · Berlin Committee · Ghadar · Home Rule · Khaksar Tehrik · Khudai Khidmatgar · Hindustan Republican Association · Swaraj Party · Indian Independence League · Azad Hind · more
Social reformers
Mahatma Jyotirao Phule · Gopal Ganesh Agarkar · Shahu Maharaj · Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar · Dhondo Keshav Karve · Vitthal Ramji Shinde · Mahadev Govind Ranade · Swami Dayananda Saraswati · Ramakrishna · Swami Vivekanand · Vinoba Bhave · Baba Amte · Ram Mohan Roy · Balshastri Jambhekar · Gopal Hari Deshmukh
Indian leaders
and activists
Puli Thevar · Yashwantrao Holkar · Veerapandiya Kattabomman · Sangolli Rayanna · Mangal Pandey · Rae Ahmed Nawaz Khan Kharal · Rani of Jhansi · Bahadur Shah Zafar · Bal Gangadhar Tilak · Gopal Krishna Gokhale · Dadabhai Naoroji · Bhikaji Cama · Shyamji Krishna Varma · Annie Besant · Har Dayal · Subramanya Bharathi · Lala Lajpat Rai · Bipin Chandra Pal · Rash Behari Bose · Chittaranjan Das · Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan · Maulana Azad · Chandrasekhar Azad · Rajaji · Bhagat Singh · Sarojini Naidu · Purushottam Das Tandon · Alluri Sitaramaraju · M. Ali Jinnah · Sardar Patel · Subhash Chandra Bose · Jawaharlal Nehru · Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi · Allama Mashriqi · more
British Raj
Robert Clive · James Outram · Dalhousie · Irwin · Linlithgow · Wavell · Stafford Cripps · Mountbatten · more
Independence
Cabinet Mission · Indian Independence Act · Partition of India · Political integration · Constitution · Republic of India
References
- Katherine Frank, Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi (2002)
- Rajmohan Gandhi, Patel: A Life (1992)
External links
- Gandhi cap out of fashion
- Gandhi topi sales slagging
- Indian headdresses
Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gandhi_cap”
Categories: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi | Indian independence movement | Politics of IndiaHidden categories: Articles lacking sources from May 2007 | All articles lacking sources | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since May 2007