New Delhi: As India celebrated its 72nd Republic Day Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wore a bright red bandhej (a type of tie-dye textile) headgear with yellow dots during the celebratory parade — a gift from the royal family of Jamnagar in Gujarat.
The prime minister is known to don a special pagdi, a symbol of royalty, power and status, every year on Republic Day and Independence Day. These are usually of the bandhej variety, a technique especially practiced in Rajasthan, Gujarat and parts of Uttar Pradesh.
On the 71st Republic Day last year, the PM had donned a saffron-coloured bandhej headgear.
In 2014, for his first Independence Day address as prime minister, Modi had worn a Jodhpuri bandhej turban in bright red and green. During the 2019 Independence Day celebrations, he wore one that matched the colours of the Indian flag.
The PM usually wears pagdis in warm tones of yellow, orange and red, specifically between 565 and 740 nanometres in wavelength on the spectrum of light, during these special occasions.
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PM’s ‘halari pagdi‘
Many took to Twitter Tuesday to praise the PM’s traditional ‘halari pagdi’ this year.
Jamnagar is known for its rich culture.
Proud to see Hon'ble PM Shri Narendra Modi Ji @narendramodi in a 'Halari Paghdi' from Jamnagar on the occasion of #RepublicDay2021 again…@PMOIndia@BJP4India@BJP4Gujarat@ParasKGhelani@KanakharaManish@vkguts #RepublicDayParade pic.twitter.com/bMXKQ15Rtf
— Er. A.T.Attarwala (@IndianEngineers) January 26, 2021
Halari Paghdi of Jadeja Dynasty?…Prime Minister Modi is wearing a special 'Paghdi' from Jamnagar, today. The first such 'Paghdi' was gifted to the PM by the royal family of Jamnagar, Gujarat.#RepublicDay pic.twitter.com/5S5gby1KXf
— Dhruvrajsinh Jadeja (@Jadeja_36) January 26, 2021
According to an ANI report, the royal family of Jamnagar holds “special respect globally”. In the 1940s, Maharaja Jamsaheb Digvijay Singh Jadeja of the Jamnagar royal family had saved some 1,000 Polish children during World War 2.
The PM’s special pagdi, along with his long white beard, also sparked speculations on social media that he was trying to emulate poet Rabindranath Tagore and novelist Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, also known a Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections this year.
— priyamvada (@priyamvadami) January 26, 2021
Some users said his pagdi resembled the one that was worn by Indian historian and the founder of Brahmo Sabha, Raja Rammohan Roy.
Oma ..
Raja Rammohan Roy wore it much earlier ..
Man who exposed Sanatani customs are not based on Vedas..
Stopped Sati..
Bengal in 19th century stood against everything Modi preaches..
Even Bankim Chandra.. https://t.co/6w73UlZ7HP
— Shuvankar Mukherjee (@shuvankr) January 26, 2021
Also read: 1971 to 2021 – We fought together, now Bangladesh Army marches with us on Republic Day