The Antiquities of Orissa v1.c10.54

v1.c10.54

**Opinions of Buchanan Hamilton, &c.:** It is not to be denied that these instances are few, but their evidence as far as it goes, is authentic and unmistakable, and, I venture to think, cannot be gainsaid. The nature of the Indian climate is such that for nine months in the year all dresses are more or less unpleasant, and even the British soldier here feels, in April and May, more comfortable without his shirt than with it, and, if not prevented by military discipline, would gladly throw it aside; it is not remarkable, therefore, that the natives should confine themselves to the smallest amount of clothing that decency and the habits of the country permit. But that does not suffice for a universal conclusion as to the total absence of all made dresses. At any rate the instances quoted are enough to set aside the theory first started by Buchanan Hamilton,³⁴ and since adopted by Drs. Muir³⁵ and Watson,³⁶ regarding the Muhammadan origin of the Indian shaped dress as altogether untenable.