One is struck by Dr.Gobind Singh Mansukhani’s Hamdard Dwakhanalike slogans in his “A Book of Sikh Studies” (National Book Shop Dethi1989): “Kachh or underwear symbolizes continence and self-restraint. It serves as a reminder against adultery or Sex-perversion”.. “it covers also control over sex” (p 16).. “the under-pants (Kachh) are necessary for the maintenance of personal decency and chastity” (p94). Well tried Sir but no amount of fanciful and Hinduized hyperbolic interpretations of Rehat can equate Guru-di-kachh with a well-hidden and “unmentionable” underwear! Unless of course the Indian Government mandates the adoption of “Mansukhani code of underwear” for its Ram Baan Elaaj of birth control or Sex-education in schools.
Kachh not an underwear: Growing up in the forties we learnt that Guru-dikachh a loose one-piece two legged covering for hips and legs was an essential constituent of the Sikh Rehat. Many “orthodox” Sikh adults and Nihang Singhs wore a dress garment called Kachhaihra amply pleated full at the bottom and knees length. Many others wore the Kachh or Kacliha an abridged version of Kachhaihra but with fewer pleats and reaching only up to the mid-thighs. As a garment it did a double duty: Besides being neat looking “shorts” it provided partial but adequate leg covering and had enough pleats to cover the hips rather decently. It was worn very much in public and was regarded neither obscene now was it “unmentionable” underwear! (Underwear originally European fashion garments have now become a universal dress necessity.) The Kachh was thus the Sikh alternative to the Hindu leg coverings: Loosely wrapped Dhoti or the tight-fitting and Gstrings like Janghia or its non-stitched equivalent the Langot.
“Mansukhani code” alters Rehat: When the British Crown’s Sikh soldiers the Sikh elite and “well-dressed” and urbanized Sikhs adopted the dress-modes of the non-Sikhs who covered their legs with Trousers Pants Pajama Shalwar Chaddar or Tehmat they altered the Rehat quite drastically. Since the traditional Kachh of Rehat and new dress-modes were incompatible the Sikhs invented the “Mansukhani code” :They relegated the Kachh into its current ignominious position of an undergarment. The ruse of Kachhas-underwear worked well with Shalwar Pajama or Tehmat but it was too bulky under the pants of “suited-booted” Sikh gentlemen It soon faded into a Janghia-like hosiery product the knitted Jockstrap!
Stitched Clothing a Muslim Import: Until the 12th century when the Muslims conquered North and Central India the dress code of non-Muslim Indian males consisted mostly of Dhoti: A long piece of cloth wrapped around the hips and drawn between the legs in such a fashion that it formed a series of folds; the torso was either kept bare or was covered with the other end of dhoti. Thereafter new dress styles were adopted to conform to the Muslim practice which required that the body be covered as completely as possible. Muslims brought the dress styles of stitched clothing prevalent in Turkey Turkistan Persia (Iran) or Arabia: Turkish men brought the Jamah a long-sleeved coat that reaches to the knees and wide trousers known as the Isar. The Arabs brought the shirt or Chaise -reaching to the ground very wide. One of the garments of women was the wide-topped trousers snugly fitted around the calves of legs (Encyclopedia Britannica p.1039). Present day Shalwar is apparently derived from the Persian/Khurdish/Turkish “baggy pants” a pleated two-legged garment extremely ample and full at the bottom and gathered around the ankles (The wide pants worn by the men of Northern Caucuses USSR are called Sharovary.)
Puffed Trunk Breeches: The eyed steel stitching needles were manufactured in the Netherlands in the 15th century. The profusion of fabrics and stitching needles brought the clothing from a dress necessity into the realm of fashion. During the reign of Elizabeth particularly in later half of 16th century one of the most common leg coverings in England was the Puffed Trunk (truncated) Breeches tied around the waist amply pleated around the hips and thighs and wrapped above the knees (Full length breeches or hose are the precursor of modern day pants or trousers).
Kachha an European Import: Incidentally that part or comer of Dhoti which is drawn between the legs and tucked behind the back is called Kachh (Mahan Kosh; Bhai Kahan Singh p.290). But how did Sharovary or “baggy pants” shrink into a Kachhaihra? Or how did the Kachh of Dhoti transform into a Kachha? The answer may lie with the Europeans: Jesuit priests adventures and merchants were not an uncommon sight in the mid-seventeenth century Agra Dhilli Madras or Hoogli; and many wore leg coverings such as the Puffed Trunk or Full Breeches (Anyone remembers a leg covering called Birjis worn by the Anglicized and horse-riding gentry of India) Establishment of East India Company in 1600 and its operations in Bengal and Southern India predate the Guru’s promulgation of Kachh as one of the Rehat. The Kachhaihra thus is an adaptation of the Puffed Trunk Breeches and it certainly was not designed to promote chastity or to be a restraint against adultery!
Article extracted from this publication >> September 13, 1991
