The Tamil Nadu State Government made it amply clear that its male employees can wear dhoti reflecting Tamil culture or any Indian traditional dress and at the same time wanted them to avoid casual attire.
Thus, a few days after the government asked its Secretariat employees to avoid casual clothes and wear neat, clean, formal attire, the government has now clarified that traditional dress like veshti (dhoti) is always permissible for its staff.
Through a Government Order (GO) dated 28th May 2019, the government had amended the ‘Tamil Nadu Secretariat Office Manual,’ mandating the dress code.
The revised Government Order
The revised GO issued Saturday (1 June) by Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan said:
“Government servants are required to wear neat, clean, formal attire that is appropriate to the workplace setting, so as to maintain the decorum of the office, while on duty, like saree or salwar kameez or churidar with dupatta in the case of female government servants…..and shirts with formal pants or veshti (dhoti) reflecting Tamil culture or any Indian traditional dress, in the case of male government servants. Casual attire shall be avoided.”