January 22, 2026

Is there a dress code for Independence Day? Of course normally people do like to wear traditional clothes on occasions like these, but the matter is purely of personal choice. If one is comfortable in pant and shirt or t-shirt, or if a girl is comfortable in salwar suit or even jeans and top, no one should expect or force them to wear a kurta-pyjama or a saree/salwar-suit. Niether should one scoff at their choice of attire. The important point is one should be properly dressed (and by this I mean not shabbily dressed, given the solemnity of the occasion). Since when did a kurta-pyjama or a saree/salwar-suit become compulsory wearing for Indpendence Day?

The trolls who are after Priyanka Chopra for posting a picture with the Indian flag in a t-shirt and jeans should recognize the fact that the actor is in the glamour industry. She will obviously wear what she is most comfortable in. Not long ago, she was trolled for wearing a short dress when meeting PM Modi in Germany. The trolls objected to her indulging in a leg-show. Priyanka is one of the most fashionable women in India. She wears trendy clothes and is a style icon. In the Independence Day picture, she is looking quite attractive and if she says her heart belongs to India, it is absurd on part of trolls to tell her to remain in the US.

It is a disturbing trend currently when a set of people think they will dictate the rest of us on what we should wear, do or eat and when. If all of us were to behave in the same manner and have similar habits, we would cease to be a country inhabited by humans and would become robotic, even moronic. There can be no set of rules of behavior and habit even in a small society, let alone a society as big and diverse as we have in India. Individuality is a very interesting and strong trait in human beings. It distinguishes us from everyone else, even our parents and siblings, and makes us what we are. It is one factor that makes people achieve greater heights. Sadly, some people in our country wish us to become factory products, pre-programmed to act and behave in a particular manner that – devilishly – they will design and apply.

There is hope though. The number of these trolls is small. The number of those who think differently and will resist these trolls when push comes to shove is infinitely greater. India, and Indians, have always valued independent thinking as long as it is not abusive or blatantly anti-national (although here again, it is questionable as to who or what is do decide what is anti-national). Suffice it to say that as long as one does not break the law, there is no way one can allow a person or a group of person to dictate what one will wear, do or eat or how one will behave in a given situation. It will be a long haul, but right-thinking Indians must be prepared to fight to preserve their individuality.