Srinagar, Apr 18: In Kashmir politics, the Pheran once spoke louder than manifestos and whispered of tradition. However, in this new season of politics, beneath the well-cut wool of tradition, a slender silk strip is whispering new ambitions.
The necktie has arrived in Kashmir’s political wardrobe. And it’s not going quietly. From Anantnag to Baramulla to the corridors of Srinagar’s civil secretariat, power ties are cinching not just the collars of politicians, but also their identities.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah may have lit the sartorial spark, pairing his suits with silken ties long before it became fashionable in Kashmir.
But younger politicians, like Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Zadibal Tanvir Sadiq, are carrying the flame, choosing knots over kurtas.
Is it a bid for relevance, or reinvention, or both?
“I feel that I’m in an august house (Legislative Assembly), a sacred house. I feel what you say, and how you conduct yourself, has a bearing not only in the house but also outside it. Similarly, how you dress carries a message,” Sadiq said.
He said youth look up to politicians, how they talk and how they dress.
“As a politician, it is our responsibility to do our homework, dress well, and conduct ourselves in a way that sends a good message,” Sadiq said.
The transformation isn’t going unnoticed.
Prominent Kashmiri fashion designer and Creative Director Bounipan, Zubair Kirmani said, “We can see a change.”
He said that previously, people would join politics after retirement.
“Now we can see even young entrepreneurs getting into politics,” Kirmani said. “These young politicians want to look smart and look what they are.”
He said that these young politicians have good exposure and do not hesitate to sport a business suit and a tie.
“They are serious about themselves and why not?” Kirmani said. “If they can’t take care of themselves, how can they take care of the people?”
F E Paul and Sons, a custom tailoring and premium fabrics store at Residency Road, Srinagar, has been making customised business suits and selling silken ties since 1943.
Shop owner Nasir Maqbool Paul said there has been a surge in orders for business suits.
“The culture of sporting customised business suits is growing, particularly among the political class,” he said. “Politicians like Chief Minister’s Adviser Nasir Aslam Wani and former minister and legislator Ali Muhammad Sagar and his son Salman Ali Sagar regularly get their business suits made by us.”
As Kashmir’s new political language is being tailored, Apni Party President and former minister Altaf Bukhari has made an image of sporting business suits and colourful silken ties.
A traditionalist in speech and a modernist in thread, Bukhari said, “Being someone who started his career in business, I have always been more comfortable wearing business suits as it looks more formal.”
He said that in summers he prefers to wear safari suits instead of formal pants and shirts.
The Apni Party founder said that over the years and after venturing into politics, he also started sporting the more traditional kameez shalwar and a waistcoat.
“For politicians, it isn’t the dress that matters but how they interact with the people,” he said.
While some critics deride this trend as “colonial cosplay”, others call it “visual diplomacy”.
People’s Democratic Party (DPD) senior leader and former minister Naeem Akhtar disagrees with both.
“I don’t see it as a new trend,” he said. “I see it as a positive aspect of Kashmir politics.”
Akhtar said that most of those who studied in good higher education institutions and worked outside the state and on their return joined politics here, used to wear suits and ties.
“National Conference founder Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah used to be the best-dressed politician,” he said. “Sheikh Sahab had a great physique and everything he would wear would look glorious on him.”
Akhtar said that the only exception among the rulers in Jammu and Kashmir in this sense was Bakshi Ghulam Muhammad.
“Bakshi Sahab used to sport a traditional Sherwani and preferred to look local while Ghulam Muhammad Sadiq, Syed Mir Qasim, Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, and Durga Prasad Dhar, all used to wear suits and ties,” he said.
“NC President and three-time chief minister Farooq Abdullah, who used to be a debonair and continues to be so, also used to sport business suits and ties,” the senior PDP leader said. “Now, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah continues to do so.”
Akhtar said that all these politicians were role models for the people.
“Today’s young politicians want to be in their best attire as they are always under the glare of the cameras and social media,” he said.
This though isn’t Kashmir’s first brush with the sartorial-political.
The Karakuli cap, the sherwani, the achkan, the pheran, the waistcoat, and the white starched kameez shalwar — each held court in their time.
Economist and former finance minister Haseeb Drabu, who himself would sport business suits and silken ties when he held the cabinet portfolio, said, “If you are purely a legislator and are attending a session of the legislature, then wearing a business suit or a tie is not important.”
Drabu said, contrary to this, a minister has to conduct other professional businesses like holding meetings with bureaucrats and being at the civil secretariat, for which dressing the part was important.
“Been born and brought up in a culture of certain precedence, I used to wear business suits when I was the J&K Bank Chairman, and later when I was a minister,” he said. “As a legislator, I would prefer to wear Pathani suits because those are more comfortable when you have to sit in the house for long.”
Drabu, who also served as an Economic Adviser to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, said he feels that the sartorial elegance of a Kashmiri politician had come down a bit.
“NC founder Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah used to dress immaculately,” he said. “Sheikh Sahab would wear business suits with double-breasted blazers that too six-button double-breasted blazers, not just the four-button ones and pair it up with a pocket square besides wearing a tie.”
The former finance minister said Jammu and Kashmir politicians in the past like Mirza Muhammad Afzal Beg, Devi Das Thakur, and Sonam Narboo all used to be well dressed.
“Among the newer generation, Dilawar Mir, Altaf Bukhari, and Imran Ansari used to dress well,” he said.
Fashionistas see this fashion shift as part of a broader rebranding among Kashmiri politicians.
Assistant Professor at the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Shishi Ranjan said, “Indians are influenced by the West and politicians in India want to connect with the youth and the Gen-Next.”
According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects, India’s population stands at 141 crore with over 50 percent of the population being below the age of 25 and over 65 percent being below the age of 35.
Prof Rajan said that young politicians want to give an impression to the youth that they are like them.
“Youngsters look up to leaders like Chirag Paswan and Sachin Pilot and copy how they dress,” he said.
So, what does sporting a tie and a business suit mean in Kashmir?
Maybe it’s an innocent upgrade in a selfie-driven age.
Or maybe, just maybe, it’s a sign that Kashmir’s politics is weaving new identities out of old threads of reinvention.
