Doing away with the old tradition, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Sunday changed its 'ganvesh' by switching Khaki shorts to brown pants.

The announcement was formally made on the final day of the three-day meet in Rajasthan's Nagaur. A proposal to change the uniform had been around for a while.

Loose Khaki shorts have been the trademark of RSS cadres since the organisation's inception in 1925. Even though other parts of the uniform have been changed from time to time, khaki shorts remained in vogue till now.Initially till 1940, the uniform of RSS was khaki shirt and shorts before white shirts were introduced.

Leather shoes replaced long boots in 1973 and later rexine shoes were allowed.

Describing it as a "major change", Joshi said, "Pants are a regular feature in today's social life, so we took our decision accordingly."

Replying to questions, the RSS leader said, "We decided on brown colour though there is no specific reason for it but is commonly available and looks good."

Did you know? RSS uniform was inspired by the Congress

So what’s the history behind the uniform which seems more suitable for primary school children? In a piece for Livemint, Sidin Vadukut pointed out the uniform is actually inspired by both Mahatma Gandhi and the Congress. The Gandhi cap was a rage amongst freedom fighters in the early 20s (and anti-corruption crusaders and the AAP these days).

He wrote: “Hedgewar also made sure that his group was impeccably dressed. “The uniform”, Andersen says, “was much like that worn at the 1920 Congress session at Nagpur: khaki shirt, khaki shorts, a black khaki cap, long socks, and boots.” So there we have it. The iconic RSS uniform may have actually been first designed for volunteers at an annual session of the Indian National Congress held in Nagpur almost a century ago. Since then, however, relationships have changed a little bit.”