Rahul’s white is more than style: A look at India’s rainbow politics

In colonial times, khadi was the cloth associated with the Congress, as it was seen as a counter to colonialism in an economic sense. A significant part of the industrial revolution in Britain was financed by the raw cotton sent out from India to the cotton textile industry there, which then shipped back finished manufactured cloth to India.

Machine-made clothes being cheaper than those woven by Indian weavers, the British textile industry found a huge market in India, making its profits increase exponentially – while Indian weavers were impoverished. Mahatma Gandhi’s charkha was a counter to this, by encouraging people to spin their khadi and wear it, while boycotting foreign-made clothes.

If Rahul Gandhi is seeking to associate with a style, he is not the first. Jawaharlal Nehru had his Nehru jacket, a near similar version of it was fashioned by Narendra Modi as Modi jacket, Mamata Banerjee has her white saris with blue border, and Manmohan Singh had his blue turban.

Beyond what their leaders wear, parties have also chosen colours as representative of what they stand for.

Of them, the best hue associated with an ideology in the country today is saffron – which is associated with the BJP and RSS. On why the colour, a BJP leader, who refused to be identified, said: “Saffron is a colour associated with tyag aur balidan (renunciation and sacrifice). Hindu ascetics wear saffron, as they renounce their families and sacrifice worldly pleasures. The army of the Marathas under Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj also had a saffron flag.”

The colour identification has stuck with the BJP, with not only its workers but also its detractors identifying it with saffron. The term “saffronisation” is often used by Sangh critics for the views of the BJP and RSS, particularly on Indian history.

Another colour closely identified with an ideology is red — representative of the Left. In this case, it is easy to see why the Left picked this colour long identified with revolution and resistance to authority as its own. Consequently, all Communist parties associate themselves with the colour.

“Red is the colour of revolution and the colour of sacrifice, and it also signifies unity, as it is the colour of the blood that runs in the veins of all workers cutting across communities,” CPI (M) leader Brinda Karat tells The Indian Express.

Slight modifications of the colour are used by some other parties. The DMK, which swears by “social justice”, and has been the vehicle of the Dravidian movement, has a red and black flag. “The black represents slavery, and the red below it represents liberation of the people from darkness,” says Puhazh Gandhi, the national spokesperson and co-head of NRI affairs of the DMK.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) has a flag with red and green in it, while leaders and workers of the party sport a red cap as a distinctive marker of the party. SP leader Abhishek Mishra tells The Indian Express, “To me, red symbolises life as also change, while green signifies nature and sustainability.”

Green as a colour cuts across parties associated with farmers and agrarian societies, as also parties with strong Muslim vote banks.

The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), an NDA ally with a traditional support base among Jat farmers, has green on its flag, which also sports a hand pump, a marker of its identity as a party representing farmers.

The JD(U) flag is also green and has an arrow, while the flag of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) is the same colour and sports a lantern. “Green is the colour of green fields, greenery, prosperity, and represents the aspirations of villages and farmers. All socialist and farmer-based parties from the Janata Dal to its factions, such as the RLD, JD(U), SP and RJD, have the colour green on their flags,” says senior JD(U) leader K C Tyagi.

However, green also represents another stream of Indian politics. Parties like the AIMIM and IUML, which represent the Muslim community, also have green flags. The IUML’s rectangular green flag has a white crescent and star in the top left corner.

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), previously called TRS, of Telangana chose the colour pink. Explaining what the colour symbolises for the party, founder K Chandrashekar Rao’s daughter and MLC K Kavitha had said after the party’s sweep of Telangana’s first Assembly polls, in 2014: “The reason my father chose pink was because it was the perfect reflection of the Telangana movement’s passionate effort towards achieving the goal… It is a combination of white and red. While white stands for dignity, decency, transparency and sincerity, red depicts the passion and the sharpness of the movement. Even lighthouses are white and red. It (the BRS) is the lighthouse that guides the boats to the shore and party wanted to be that guiding torch to the people of the region.”

In neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), founded by former CM N T Rama Rao, popularly known as NTR, has yellow as its colour. “The yellow background signifies hope and prosperity, while the gear wheel, plough, and hut collectively represent industrial growth, agricultural strength, and the upliftment of rural communities. It embodies NTR’s vision of a self-reliant Andhra Pradesh and his commitment to the welfare of every Telugu-speaking individual. The flag is not just a banner; it is a reflection of our dedication to development, equality, and the pride of the Telugu people,” party national spokesperson Jyothsna Tirunagari told The Indian Express.

Another distinctive colour in Indian politics is blue, and is associated with parties seen to have a support base among Dalit communities. The Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) as well as the RPI (Athawale) of Union minister Ramdas Athawale have blue flags. Across the country B R Ambedkar is depicted in statues wearing a blue coat. Ambedkar’s Scheduled Caste Federation and the Republican Party of India founded just after his death also had blue flags. “I have heard in many speeches that blue represents the sky, and under the sky everybody is equal,” a BSP leader who did not wish to be named says, linking the colour to the parties’ quest for social equality for the Scheduled Castes.