In the recent article published by New York Times (https://t.co/pkw9CiUqQ7?amp=1 the author argues that wearing traditional Indian attire is some sort of bigotry. The writer Asgar Qadri has cleverly tried to reduce PM Modi’s efforts to revive manufacturing in India, under the ‘Make in India’ label to just one point, ‘the effort to restore Indian-ness in Indian fashion’. In a well written rejoinder to this bigotry, Shefali Vaidya says “Fact is, outfits like the sari or the kurta are the choice of millions of Indians, rural and urban, educated or uneducated, rich or poor. A sari or a Kurta has no connection with religion. Indians of all religious and cultural beliefs wear the sari or the kurta. If you visit the southern states of India, you will find Muslim and Christian men routinely dressed in the same white dhoti as their Hindu counterparts! Indian fashion is Indian, not just Hindu. Any attempt to encourage Indians to be more Indian in their fashion outlook will only benefit the nation. ” (https://www.myind.net/Home/viewArticle/no-new-york-times-wearing-saree-and-promoting-indian-textiles-is-not-communal
It is important that all the lovers of traditional Indian attire condemn this ill-intended efforts of Mr Qadri and the New York Times. I request all of you to sign this petition.
- New York Times