--- title: India: RSS Hindu Nationalist Group May Drop Khaki Shorts description: The quirky RSS uniforms could get mothballed canonical: https://time.com/4102370/india-rss-shorts-trousers-uniform-change-modi/ author: Rishi Iyengar article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-06T01:42:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T12:24:00.584Z article:section: World og:title: India's Biggest Hindu Nationalist Group May Drop Its Khaki Shorts og:description: Quirky RSS uniforms could get mothballed. og:url: https://time.com/4102370/india-rss-shorts-trousers-uniform-change-modi/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb94e3c9e49b2f689/69886fe4f887dcfa33e9330c/gettyimages-493754482.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: GettyImages-493754482 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: India's Biggest Hindu Nationalist Group May Drop Its Khaki Shorts twitter:description: Quirky RSS uniforms could get mothballed. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb94e3c9e49b2f689/69886fe4f887dcfa33e9330c/gettyimages-493754482.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # India's Biggest Hindu Nationalist Group May Drop Its Khaki Shorts by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Nov 6, 2015 1:42 AM CUT  RSS volunteers queue up for an annual march at Jehangirabad area in Indore, India, on Oct. 22, 2015 RSS volunteers queue up for an annual march at Jehangirabad area in Indore, India, on Oct. 22, 2015Arun Mondhe—HIndustan Times/Getty Images by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Nov 6, 2015 1:42 AM CUT The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (or RSS) is an organization known for the hard-line Hindu ideology that its millions of members and associated political parties (including the Bharatiya Janata Party of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi) espouse. But it is [also known for its quirky uniforms](http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/tailored-for-youth-rss-shorts-may-be-replaced-by-trousers/ "undefined"), consisting of a white shirt and pleated khaki shorts that end above the knee — often worn by some of the country’s top politicians. The uniform may soon [change](http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/tailored-for-youth-rss-shorts-may-be-replaced-by-trousers/ "undefined"), however, with a senior member recently telling the _Indian Express_ newspaper that the organization’s leadership is considering changing its mandated attire — the subject of many an Internet meme. Options for the new uniform will reportedly consist of full-length trousers in multiple colors, along with a version that includes T-shirts, in order to attract more youth. > [](https://twitter.com/SuzaneNayak/status/657093009649983488) > [](https://twitter.com/vijayprashad/status/657659014155796482) > [](https://twitter.com/clutchplay/status/657074852935811072) The proposed change in uniform will be discussed and possibly adopted at a meeting of the organization’s highest decisionmaking committee in March next year, though many within the RSS are said to be opposed to the idea. \[[_Indian Express_](http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/tailored-for-youth-rss-shorts-may-be-replaced-by-trousers/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4102370/india-rss-shorts-trousers-uniform-change-modi/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4102370/india-rss-shorts-trousers-uniform-change-modi/"},"headline":"India's Biggest Hindu Nationalist Group May Drop Its Khaki Shorts","datePublished":"2015-11-06T01:42:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:24:00.584Z","description":"Quirky RSS uniforms could get mothballed","url":"https://time.com/4102370/india-rss-shorts-trousers-uniform-change-modi/","keywords":["India","Narendra Modi","BJP","Change"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb94e3c9e49b2f689/69886fe4f887dcfa33e9330c/gettyimages-493754482.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb94e3c9e49b2f689/69886fe4f887dcfa33e9330c/gettyimages-493754482.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"GettyImages-493754482","caption":"RSS volunteers queue up for an annual march at Jehangirabad area in Indore, India, on Oct. 22, 2015","creditText":"Arun Mondhe—HIndustan Times/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4102370/india-rss-shorts-trousers-uniform-change-modi/","name":"India's Biggest Hindu Nationalist Group May Drop Its Khaki Shorts"}}]}] ```