Since India gained independence from British colonial rule in 1947, the country immediately established its own police force.
However, influenced by long-term British colonial rule, India's policing system, police ranks, and equipment still bear significant traces of British influence.
India's police system is divided into two main categories: the Central Police and the State Police.
The Central Police is directly managed by the Ministry of Home Affairs, while the State Police is managed by each state independently.
Currently, India has approximately 2.3 million police personnel of various kinds, collectively forming a vast and complex policing system.
Due to differences in economic strength, cultural background, and other factors across the states of India, police uniforms have not been fully standardized in terms of style and specifications.
For example, some states have police uniforms made of thicker, less comfortable fabric; some states' police officers wear dark-colored uniforms, while others predominantly wear light-colored ones.
There are also differences in details such as police badges and insignias between the Central and State Police.
Among them, the most well-known are the law enforcement officers dressed in khaki uniforms.
They are often seen patrolling the streets of India, carrying wooden batons, and performing various law enforcement tasks.
Khaki, as a fabric, originated in the mid-19th century and was widely used in India.
At that time, British soldiers, to adapt their uniforms to the climate and environment of India, began using mud and tea to dye their white uniforms into a dusty color, which unintentionally created khaki.
In 1847, Sir Harry Burnett Lumsden introduced the first official khaki uniform in India.
Since then, khaki has gradually become the standard color for Indian police uniforms and is consistent with the summer dress color of the Indian Army.
To maintain public order, Indian police officers often need to conduct law enforcement on the streets, leading to a high visibility of police presence.
However, to foreigners unfamiliar with India, these officers in khaki uniforms are easily mistaken for military personnel, as in Western countries, khaki is primarily used for military uniforms, while police uniforms rarely use this color.
In fact, Indian police have long planned to update this outdated uniform.
As early as 2017, the National Institute of Design in India developed nine new design prototypes for police uniforms. The new designs included shirts, trousers, belts, caps, badges, shoes, and jackets, with experiments in different color combinations.
However, the khaki uniform has become deeply ingrained in the minds of the Indian public, becoming one of the symbols of Indian police, making the implementation of new uniforms a challenging task.
Therefore, to this day, the so-called "new police uniform" has yet to be officially introduced, and in daily life, people still see the classic khaki uniform and the uniquely regional image of Indian police.
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