In 1931 the official flag adopted by the Indian National Congress to represent Indian independence (Purna Swaraj) was a tricolour with the traditional spinning wheel in the centre symbolizing Gandhi's goal of making Indians self-reliant by fabricating their own clothing. Saree, shalwar kameez, dhoti, Sikh’s turban, kacchera … are ideal symbols of Indian cultural, spiritual, legal, and political identities. As such they could be used, at once, as coercive and liberating tools. We cannot ignore, for example, the white sarees traditionally worn by widows, which make their female impurity manifest to everybody, while concealing their human individuality in favour of a shared spiritual status. The inextricable connection between fashion and identity has outlived the achievement of Indian independence and remained a strong motive in literature and cinema. In many postcolonial novels fashion plays a fundamental role in shaping the cultural generation gap. It actually happens that second generation migrants assert their own belonging to "one" country by wearing clothes either after the occidental or the oriental fashion. My paper aims at investigating these symbols in some of the most representative postcolonial films and literary works.

Fashion and India: coercion or a flag for freedom?, 2012-09-06.

Fashion and India: coercion or a flag for freedom?

Carbone, Paola
2012-09-06

Abstract

In 1931 the official flag adopted by the Indian National Congress to represent Indian independence (Purna Swaraj) was a tricolour with the traditional spinning wheel in the centre symbolizing Gandhi's goal of making Indians self-reliant by fabricating their own clothing. Saree, shalwar kameez, dhoti, Sikh’s turban, kacchera … are ideal symbols of Indian cultural, spiritual, legal, and political identities. As such they could be used, at once, as coercive and liberating tools. We cannot ignore, for example, the white sarees traditionally worn by widows, which make their female impurity manifest to everybody, while concealing their human individuality in favour of a shared spiritual status. The inextricable connection between fashion and identity has outlived the achievement of Indian independence and remained a strong motive in literature and cinema. In many postcolonial novels fashion plays a fundamental role in shaping the cultural generation gap. It actually happens that second generation migrants assert their own belonging to "one" country by wearing clothes either after the occidental or the oriental fashion. My paper aims at investigating these symbols in some of the most representative postcolonial films and literary works.
6-set-2012
Fashion, India, Gandhi, Mulk Raj Anand, Monica Ali, Manju Kapur, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, khadi, spinning wheel, sari, salwaar kameez, The Pink Sari Gang, human rights
Fashion and India: coercion or a flag for freedom?, 2012-09-06.
File in questo prodotto:
Non ci sono file associati a questo prodotto.

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10808/8164
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus ND
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact