Hannah on Indianisation of the uniform of the Indian Railway Staff

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/15/is-it-the-end-of-the-line-for-one-of-indias-most-distinctive-garments

In an article in the Guardian dated 15 January, Hannah Ellis Petersen talks about the Indianisation of the uniform of the Indian Railways staff. She says:
The bandhgala jacket is not the only relic to face the ire of the Hindu nationalist government of prime minister Narendra Modi, as it has pledged to free India from the legacy of more than 100 years of, ‘Britain’s cruel and exploitative colonial rule, which only ended in 1947’. “The goal of a developed India is to remove any trace of the colonial mindset,” Modi said last year.
It is an understatement to call the British Rule in India cruel and exploitative.
Between 1858 and 1947 millions of Indians died of starvation when the British rulers exported essential crops even when the country was going through devastating famines. The Indian word Loot entered the English dictionary which means theft of Indian wealth of gigantic proportion. Up to 50% of tariffs were laid on Indian goods. Between the 1st Century to the start of British colonisation India’s GDP was 25 to 35% of the world total GDP. By the time the British left it was reduced to 2%.
India’s hand weaving textile industry was destroyed by heavy tariffs. This was to protect and promote Mancesters textile industry. India’s textile industry was reduced to being a supplier of raw materials, mainly cotton.
The plunder of India was efficient, ruthless and unparalleled.
Nitin Mehta
15 January 2026