A change in uniform is high on the RSS agenda at the Akhil Bharatiya Patinidhi Sabha meet in Rajasthan
A spectacular style makeover may see trousers replacing the khaki shorts that have defined members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS for over nine decades.
A change in the RSS uniform is on the agenda of the highest decision making body of the RSS - the Akhil Bharatiya Patinidhi Sabha - which meets on March 11-13 in Rajasthan.
Even the colour may change; grey, blue and black are being debated for the pants.
The RSS, the ideological mentor of the ruling BJP, set up a committee after many senior members suggested that it was time to update the Sangh uniform and ditch the flared "half-pants" to attract more young people. The proposal has been discussed at RSS forums for years, but a decision has never been taken. It was shot down at a meeting in 2009.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, who was general secretary then, was among those who supported a new-look uniform.
"When the well dug by ancestors gives dirty water, there is no point drinking from it. A new well can be dug," Mr Bhagwat said, using a Hindi phrase that translates to changing with the times.
The RSS describes itself as the world's largest voluntary organization with six million members. Set up in 1925 as a social outfit, the Sangh insists it is not political even though the BJP draws some of its top leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah from its cadres.
The regulation knee-length shorts do not distinguish between top leaders and the junior-most worker; BJP icons like former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee have been seen in them at RSS events.
Over the years, the Sangh's look has gone through minor tweaks. Shoes replaced boots, the leather belts became plastic after objections on animal cruelty and the shirts became white instead of khaki.