Someone Asked Tamil Nadu CM Vijay To Drop Towel Culture on VIP Chairs and It Seems He Listened
Tamil Nadu CM Vijay drops the white towel from his official chair after activist Licypriya Kangujam’s appeal, sparking smiles over India’s quirky “VIP towel culture.”
- Viral News
- 3 min read
A white towel casually spread across a government chair may look ordinary, but in India’s bureaucracy, it has long been seen as a quiet symbol of power, hierarchy and official status.
Now, a social media exchange involving Vijay and 14-year-old climate activist Licypriya Kangujam has sparked fresh conversation around the decades-old “VIP towel culture” seen in government offices across the country.
The discussion began after Licypriya tagged Vijay’s official handle and urged him to end the practice of placing white towels on VIP chairs.
“Can we end this towel culture on VIP chairs in India? People already know that CMs are VIPs in India. This towel culture is being followed by ministers, bureaucrats, and even small officers,” she wrote on social media.
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Calling Vijay an inspiration, she added, “You can start this change.”
Soon after, social media users noticed a subtle but interesting detail in photographs from one of Vijay’s meetings. In the newer image, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister could be seen seated on an official chair without the traditional white towel draped over it.
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Licypriya then reposted the image with a message thanking him.
“Your action proves that you are listening to the voices of common people. Change is coming, whether we like it or not,” she wrote.
The post quickly gained traction online, with many users praising the symbolic gesture while others debated whether such traditions still have relevance in modern governance.
The Curious Story Behind India’s ‘Towel Culture’
In Indian government offices, the white towel on an officer’s chair has survived generations of political change, administrative reforms and even the shift from paper files to digital governance.
Walk into many government buildings even today and the scene remains familiar - old steel cupboards, piles of files, slow-moving ceiling fans, and at the centre, a senior officer’s chair neatly covered with a white towel.
There is no officially documented history explaining exactly when or why the practice began, but many believe its roots lie in the British colonial era.
Former civil servant Gurdeep Singh Sappal once described it as a leftover tradition from a time when officers travelled long distances on horseback in India’s hot climate.
According to him, towels were originally used for hygiene and comfort, especially before air conditioning and modern transport became common. Over time, the British left, horses disappeared, offices modernised but the towels remained.