Khaki - Origin

Origin

In 1846 Sir Harry Lumsden raised a Corps of Guides for frontier service from British Indian recruits at Peshawar. Lumsden was of the view that the border troops were best dressed in their native costume, which consisted of a smock and white pajama trousers made of a coarse home-spun cotton, and a cotton turban, supplemented by a leather or padded cotton jacket for cold weather. For the first year, no attempt was made at uniformity. Subsequently, the material was dyed locally with a dye prepared from the native mazari palm. This created a drab gray which was used historically by Afghan tribals for camouflaging themselves. However, mazari could not dye leather jackets, and an alternative was sought. Cloth was dyed in mulberry juice which gave a yellowish drab shade. Subsequently all regiments, whether British or Indian, serving in the region had adopted properly dyed khaki uniforms for active service and summer dress. The original khaki fabric was a closely twilled cloth of linen or cotton.