The RSS will switch to the new pants on Vijaydashmi on October 11.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's new khaki pants were delivered today at its shop that sells uniforms near its headquarters in Nagpur, Maharashtra. 10,000 of them in the first batch, each for Rs 250.
The pants replace the knee-length khaki shorts that members of the RSS, the BJP's ideological mentor, have worn for the last 90 years. The RSS will shift to pants on Vijaydashmi on October 11 this year.
The new look was revealed today at the Nagpur office to mixed reviews. Older members say they preferred the shorts for the ease they afford while performing martial arts and marching. They also said that the shorts gave RSS workers a distinct identity.
But younger members, led by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, 65, have argued that the khaki pants will encourage more young people to join the organisation; the RSS believes many young people have been deterred from joining it by the shorts and the many jokes made about them.
The decision to switch to the khaki pants was taken earlier this year. They will be matched with the white shirt, black cap, brown socks and bamboo sticks that make up the "ganvesh" or uniform of the RSS.
Leaders contemplated changing the colour of the pants to grey, but eventually agreed that the political symbolism of the khaki, associated with the RSS for years, could not be diluted.
The last change in uniform was less drastic - the RSS had replaced leather belts with those made of thick canvas in 2011. The organisation had shifted from khaki shirt and shorts, its first uniform, to a white shirt in 1940.
The change has come after almost 10 years of debate and survey. A 12-member team had toured the country and collected feedback.