MODI'S MOMENT

INDIA'S LEADER is SHAPING the COUNTRY in his OWN ASSERTIVE IMAGE

- Danish Manzoor Bhat

" TOUCH MY VEST," NARENDRA MODI told a startled Newsweek team interviewing the Indian prime minister in his residence in New Delhi in late March. "Come on, touch it." Modi challenged Nancy Cooper, Newsweek's global editor in chief, to guess what the blue jacket was made of. Cooper suggested silk. "It's recycled plastic bottles," Modi said, clearly enjoying the reaction of his surprised guests.

The vest and the moment are vintage Modi: innovation, tradition, masterful messaging and, inevitably, some controversy. The vest was made popular by India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, whose great-grandson Rahul Gandhi is leading the opposition campaign to prevent Modi from winning a rare third term in elections next week. It became known as the "Nehru Jacket" and was a symbol of newly independent India's national pride as well as a fashion statement adopted by The Beatles and Sammy Davis Jr. Unlike Nehru, who preferred beiges and grays, Modi wears his modified version of the garment in brilliant hues. Indian retailers began selling "Modi Jackets" to capitalize on the prime minister's enormous personal popularity. And in 2018, when former South Korean President Moon Jae-in tweeted out his thanks for the prime minister's gift of perfectly tailored "Modi Vests"-not "Nehru Jackets"-the controversy nearly broke the Indian internet.