Frayed culture

Though new Uttarakhand CM Rawat was wrong in his remarks on ripped jeans and what women should wear in public, encouraging young people to explore alternatives to jeans is the right thing to do

Among his many faux pas within days of taking office Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat chose to weigh in on the fraught subject of what women should wear in public. Ripped jeans was his choice of proscription. Let’s forget the old arguments about patriarchy for a moment. Like most Indian male politicians Mr Rawat could hardly have been expected to be anything else. But why are ripped jeans his pet hate? Perhaps, given his unique view of Indian history, Mr Rawat regards it as a symbol of 200 years of India’s enslavement by America? Street-grunge chic, after all, is