Figure 1.--Here we see the childreb of fishermen wearing Western clothes. Fishing is not a high status occupation in India. This is on indicator as to just how common Wrstern clothing has becone. The older children are probably wearing their school uniforms. This photo was taken during 2005 in a fishermen village of Puducherri Territory (southern India).

We seen an increasing number of Indian children wearing Western dress. Before World War II, few Indian children wore Western dress. Since the Wat there has been a slow, but steady increase in the use of Wester-styled clothing. At first this was smong the educated elite in the cities. Gradually this has spread to other classess and in the 1990s increasingly affected the countryside. School gas surely been an influence promoting Western dress. We note that by the 21st century that Western-style clothing is becoming increasingly common, even in rural areas. The garments involved are primarily "T" shorts and short pants. Prosperous city children have more emaborate Western wardrobes. Traditional clothing has not disappeared. Girls in particular are more likely to wear traditiinal styles. Traditional clothing is, however, much less common than it once was. Another factor here is the economic prosperity that India is experiencing. This seems even more the case for children, in part because Western styles are normally worn at school. We are not sure about the children's preferences or if this was a factor here.

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Created: 4:41 PM 12/4/20099
Last updated: 4:41 PM 12/4/2009