Tracing the evolution of Delhi Police uniforms

After a gap of more than half a century, residents of Delhi will be guarded by police personnel in a fresh avatar: the ubiquitous khaki uniforms that the officers have worn for 55 years (and counting)—a terry cotton shirt and trousers — is likely to be soon replaced by cargo trousers and a polo T-shirt.
For more than two years, a Delhi Police committee headed by a joint commissioner-ranked officer has been striving to design and bring in a new uniform for personnel between the ranks of constables and inspectors, and this change will represent the first alteration in the Delhi Police uniform since 1969 — a legacy of 55 years (and counting) that many in the rank and file will find difficult to shed.
But change is inevitable, and Delhi Police personnel are no exception. From their earliest manifestation during the British Raj in the 1860s — when there was no standard uniform — to their current appearance, the Capital’s police personnel have donned various iterations of their uniform.
“Wearing the khaki is a matter of pride for me and many personnel like me. It’s true that our department is introducing a new, modern uniform for us, and though it will be with a heavy heart that we will say goodbye to the current uniform, considering Delhi’s climatic conditions, the new uniform will be much better suited for us. Modernity means moving ahead,” said a Delhi Police inspector who joined the force in 2008.
He spoke on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.
The history of khaki
The word “khaki” has been synonymous with the military and police since the British Raj. According to former IPS officer Maxwell Pereira, the word traces its origins to the Persian word “khak”, which means dirt.
Pereira said that in the mid-19th century, British soldiers who were posted in India began dyeing their white uniforms to a dusty colour — using anything from muddy water to tea — to camouflage themselves in hostile surroundings.
“Soon, they discovered that locals were using a reliable dye called Cutch in their cotton fabric industry for calico-prints. The dye created the colour of khak,” Pereira said, quoting an article that he wrote for the tabloid Mid-Day in July 2006.
Pereira added that the British credit lieutenant (later lieutenant-general, and eventually Sir) Harry Burnett Lumsden as the “inventor” of khaki. In December 1846, Lumsden founded the “Corps of Guides” — a regiment that would be stationed at Mardan on the Peshawar border, which was to be composed of “trustworthy” men to act as guides for troops and to gather intelligence.
“To outfit his men, Lumsden is said to have originated the first official khaki uniform… There is a mention in Byron Farwell’s Armies of the Raj that khaki-coloured uniforms were used officially for the first time during the Abyssinian campaign (present-day Ethiopia) of 1867-68, when Indian troops set out under the command of general Sir Robert Napier to release some British captives… All British troops in India ultimately adopted khaki in 1885 in preference to the previously used white as the tropical colour,” Pereira wrote in his article.
The first Delhi Police uniforms
The Delhi Police was established as a separate force on February 16, 1948. Before that, the Delhi Police was a unit of the Punjab Police, said assistant commissioner of police (general administration) Rajender Kalkal, who earlier served in the archives department, and was instrumental in setting up the Delhi Police museum.
However, till the mid-1930s, Delhi Police personnel had no standard uniform, he said.
“In the early days of the East India Company, there was no standard uniform. Policemen wore different types of headgear such as safas, pugrees, and topis. Chappals and jooties were their standard footwear, rather than boots. It was only after the British crown took over — I believe around 1933 — that a certain uniformity came about with the attire. The prescribed uniform consisted of pugrees, shirts, shorts, puttees, chappals/shoes and a broad leather belt,” said Kalkal.
Starting in 1933, police personnel below the rank of station house officer wore khaki shirts, baggy shorts, a khaki pugree with red stripes, and a red fringe over the black kullah (dome-shaped skull cap). They wore black leather shoes and puttees (leg wraps) between their ankles and knees.
The personnel wore cotton throughout the year — there was no separate uniforms for the winter, said inspector Rajesh Yadav, the incumbent in-charge of the police museum.
“During that period, very few of the constabulary knew the art of tying a pugree and fringe over the kullah. Every unit would have one or two constables who were experts in tying pugrees, and they would help other personnel tie headgears. The other personnel took several precautions to ensure that the pugree remained intact — we have seen old images in which policemen travelling in buses are carrying their headgear to preserve them,” Kalkal said.
Mounted police personnel wore pants and long shirts, along with leather shoes and wrapped puttees. They also wore metal epaulettes on their shoulders.
Unlike the lower subordinates, SHOs wore pants, a long pugree with a golden kullah, and carried a wooden baton with round metal head, according to information available in the police archives department.
According to Kalkal, the uniform of traffic police personnel was the same as the constabulary in 1948, with one difference — traffic police had white shirt sleeves.
Some years later — it is not recorded exactly when — traffic police personnel began wearing white shirts, navy-blue shorts, navy-blue pugrees with a white fringe, and black belts over a red cloth tied around their waist.
“They wore black leather shoes and elastic socks plus white spatter guards, also known as spats. We have images of 1948 and 1962 depicting the uniforms of the traffic police,” Kalkal said.
Women join the police force
During the British Raj, Delhi did not have women in the police force, but this changed soon after independence, with the force beginning to recruit women into its ranks in 1948-49.
As per official records, Maya Devi Batta was Delhi’s first woman sub-inspector, and she served in the force from 1950 till her retirement as an assistant commissioner of police in 1978.
“The uniform for women constables was a khaki saree and white blouse and a khaki side cap. We do not have official records to confirm when exactly the traditional uniform of women personnel was replaced by shirts and full trousers,” an officer aware of the matter said, on condition of anonymity.
The current look
Former IPS officer Suvashish Choudhary, who authored the book Capital Cops — which talks about the evolution of the city police — said the first major transformation in the uniform of the city police personnel was in 1969.
This change, he said, was a result of protests by the rank and file in 1966 for better working and living conditions, reasonable working hours, and for the right to unionise. The protests were finally quelled in 1968, when the Khosla Commission, led by Justice GD Khosla was formed to work on the reforms in the city police.
“Many changes happened in the police force, such as its restructuring, defined duty hours, and salary correction and modernisation of the uniforms of the personnel. The shorts and pugrees of the constabulary were replaced by trousers and khaki beret caps,” Choudhary said.
In the pre- and post-Independence years, police personnel were identified by a number engraved on their belts. This form of identification worked in the early days because the police unit was small, and personnel knew each other by name.
But over the years, the strength of personnel and size of police jurisdictions increased, said Choudhary.
“The belts had numbers and the first alphabet of the area where they were posted in, such as N-69, meaning the policeman was posted in the north district. But confusion started cropping up when the personnel were transferred to other districts. Hence identification details were removed from the belts. It was probably after changes in the uniforms in 1969 that name plates worn on shirts were introduced,” he said.
Gradual changes over the years
Although there is no documentation related to changes in the fabrics and designs of the uniforms post-1969, many serving officers said some minor changes or additions have taken place over the years.
Earlier, the uniform of personnel was made of cotton, but over the years, this was replaced by terry cotton. In addition, a winter uniform has now been introduced, with personnel now wearing shirts made of algola — a durable wool blend that provides extra warmth — instead of the terry-cotton shirts, officers said.
“At first, the shoulder straps in the uniform worn across the ranks were the same, except for stars worn by officers. The stars of senior officers were pointed, while those of lower ranks were curved. Later, the stars worn by all ranks became pointed. Similarly, blue and red ribbons on the shoulder straps were introduced at some point, while the strips of IPS officers are without ribbons,” said Kalkal.
According to former IPS officer Rajan Bhagat, the insignia presently worn by Delhi Police officers on their left shoulders was first introduced by retired IPS officer Raja Vijay Karan during his tenure as the commissioner between 1988 and 1990.
“Another insignia was introduced in 2022 by the then police commissioner Rakesh Asthana. In 1954, the President of India had honoured the Delhi Police by presenting it with ‘colours’ for their exemplary and exceptional service. The insignia introduced in 2022 was culled from the ‘colours’ and was introduced on the platinum jubilee of the Delhi Police Raising Day that was celebrated on February 16, 2022,” Bhagat said.
Towards a brave new world
On July 16 this year, images of a woman dressed in a customised polo T-shirt and cargo pants surfaced on social media, with the post claiming that this was the new uniform for Delhi Police. The photos went viral, but police officers aware of the matter were quick to state that the design was yet to be finalised, and the images were only of a “sample”.
Plans to change the Delhi Police uniform have been in the works for around a decade — in 2014, when Bhim Sain Bassi was the police chief, the thought of re-styling the uniform was floated but the proposals never even reached the drawing board stage for a number of reasons, including the nature of their profession and tight schedules.
The most recent idea to change the existing Delhi Police uniform was in March 2022, when the then police chief Rakesh Asthana proposed making the uniform more comfortable. At that time, the force entered into an agreement with the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) to come up with a new design for the uniform, including the caps and belts. Simultaneously, a committee headed by a joint commissioner of police was formed to work on the project and introduce the new uniforms after seeking feedback and testing reports from hundreds of personnel, said Bhagat.
The committee formed to work on the project took suggestions from NIFT and has been working on the design, fabrics, and appearance of the new uniform for the past two years, another senior officer aware of the matter said.
Other police forces have not been so tardy. Around the turn of the millennium, fashion designer Wendell Rodricks designed a new uniform for the Goa Police, replacing the traditional khaki uniform with navy blue trousers and white shirts. Though the force later switched back to khaki, their traffic personnel still don the uniform styled by Rodricks. Nearly two decades later, the Mumbai Police roped in fashion designer Manish Malhotra to design the ceremonial uniform for their mounted police unit that they were reviving after 88 years. On January 20, 2020, the Mumbai Police posted a video on X, thanking Malhotra for designing “an elegant uniform for our riders (Mounted Police).”
Former IPS officer Om Prakash Mishra said that changing the existing Delhi Police uniforms is a necessity, keeping in mind the city’s weather conditions and the evolution in policing.
“Since the city police are in the process of getting new uniforms for their personnel, three important factors should be kept in mind. First, it should cater to the functional requirements in terms of added gadgets (wireless sets, mobile phones, etc) that the personnel have been equipped with. Second, the uniforms should be comfortable. Third, protection from extreme heat and cold should be considered while choosing the fabrics,” Mishra said.