The Congress on Saturday, August 15, took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day outfit, saying the sequencing of his tri-coloured pocket squares made it look like he was celebrating Ireland’s Independence Day instead of India’s.
Marking his 13th consecutive address from the Red Fort, Modi wore a red tie-and-dye turban, a style tied to the textile traditions of Rajasthan and Gujarat, paired with a white kurta-pyjama and a chocolate brown vest. He completed the look with three pocket squares in saffron, green and white.
Social media users were quick to point out that the order of the colours did not match the tricolour’s saffron-white-green sequence, and instead matched Ireland’s flag, which runs green, white and saffron from left to right.
Congress’s media and publicity department head Pawan Khera shared a picture from the event on X, saying: “Lagta hai sahib ne Urdu mein Tiranga pehna hai. Ya phir Bharat ki jagah Ireland ka Independence Day mana rahay hain. (Looks like sir has donned the tricolour in Urdu (script format) or is celebrating Ireland’s Independence Day.”) The remark plays on the right-to-left direction of Urdu script to suggest the pocket square colours ran in reverse of the flag’s order.
Modi’s Independence Day and Republic Day attire has drawn close attention for over a decade, with his turbans in particular, from a red Jodhpuri bandhej in 2014 to bandhani and leheriya styles in later years, regularly scrutinised for their colours and symbolism. Sartorial choices tied to the tricolour have proven a recurring flashpoint: in 2022, he wore a turban styled directly on the flag’s saffron-white-green scheme, a deliberate move widely read as marking 75 years of independence, in contrast to Saturday’s criticism over an inadvertent reversal.
