Meet Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga, who wears his patriotism on your sleeve

The last time someone from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) tried embossing a piece of fabric, it resulted in a public relations disaster. But while Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga does not seem to share “megalomaniac” traits with the Prime Minister, he is unafraid of coming up with sartorial statements that are unusual — and scandalous. Bagga, a Delhi BJP spokesperson, is the founder of T-shirt Bhaiya, a website that sells graphic tees. And one of its bestselling designs has ensured that Bagga, this time like his leader, finds himself in hot water.

The T-shirt in question recreates the “human shield” incident, in which Major Nitin Leetul Gogoi tied an alleged stone-pelter, Farooq Ahmed Dar, to his jeep, to prevent violent protesters from attacking his vehicle in Kashmir last year. A sketch of the incident is accompanied by the message: “Indian Army saving your a**, whether you like it or not”.

Dar has filed a defamation suit against Bagga, formerly a serial demonstrator whose ascendancy in Delhi’s political circles owes chiefly to his social media stardom. With over 365,000 followers on Twitter, Bagga, 32, is a darling of the right-wing and a fervid supporter of the Indian Army. “A stone-pelter filing a case against me doesn’t mean I’ll pull the T-shirt down. We will continue selling it,” he tells me defiantly over the phone.

Exasperated by the ubiquitous Che Guevara tees in the Indian market, the idea for the emotive design was Bagga’s himself. “Instead of Guevara, why don’t we honour our own heroes such as Major Vikram Batra and Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan?” he asks. “The left wing had started portraying Major Gogoi as some sort of a villain. This is our tribute to him because he saved so many lives.” 

Sales of the “Major Gogoi” tee have been soaring. If you want to get your hands on the Rs 495 offering, you must “book” it a week in advance. Bagga’s company is also churning out new colour variants almost every day. Former Delhi minister and expelled Aam Aadmi Party member Kapil Mishra, for instance, has a liking for yellow. Mishra wore that version to the Delhi Assembly earlier this week, completing his look with hip black Wayfarers.

Bagga, also the founder of the Bhagat Singh Kranti Sena, has paid obeisance to the freedom fighter through T-shirt Bhaiya, too. Some other designs, however, are less patriotic, having been inspired by Dhinchak Pooja, a YouTube sensation who was invited to participate in the latest season of the television reality show Bigg Boss.

There’s more to Bagga than his affection for the armed forces. His popularity among the right-wing has risen significantly over the years by his taking on “anti-nationals”. In October 2011, he was held responsible for roughing up Prashant Bhushan inside his own chamber after the lawyer-activist suggested that a referendum be held on Kashmir. The same year, he disrupted an Arundhati Roy book launch in New Delhi. The Bhushan matter is pending in court. “If I hear someone say anything like that about Kashmir, I will stand up and take action,” he declares.

A lifelong swayamsevak, Bagga is also closely associated with The Art of Living; his Twitter photograph is a selfie with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. What does he make of his guru’s impassioned attempt at turning mediator in the Ayodhya dispute? “The BJP manifesto says that a Ram temple must be built. And that can happen either through a court ruling or dialogue. I don’t see his mediation efforts as a problem,” he notes.

Bagga is next planning to silence the Pakistani government, which recently denounced his T-shirt design. “The next one will be in support of Balochistan,” he says determinedly.