The Hairy Politics of Moustaches in India

Samihah Safeel examines the curious case of how facial hair on men takes a life of its own and becomes a tool ready to be wielded by the ones in power in India.

The front cover of the New Yorker Magazine issue from Aug 12, 1939. This issue depicts a South Asian tourist taking a photograph of an American family at an outdoor café. (Available as print)

The Hairy Politics of Moustaches in India

The ordinary tea stall owner and the current Prime Minister of India, two completely different people, but if there was one thing common between them, it would have to be their proud display of facial hair. India is home to the greatest of moustaches; the handlebar, muttonchop, tickler, regimental and the list goes on. In fact the man with the longest moustache in the world is the Indian, Ram Singh Chauhan who has a glorious mane more than five metres in length. Generations of Indian men have celebrated the moustaches they carefully grow and it has become a significant feature on their faces. Moreover, if you asked any Indian male why he does not shave his whiskered face, "it makes me look like a man," would be the answer you would receive every single time.