The towel on the chair of Sunil ji

A Times of India article explores how the towel on an office chair became a status symbol in India, representing government job holders.

The term 'Sunil ji' is used as an example, referring to a government officer whose chair was covered with a towel, despite a low salary.

The article connects the status symbol to India's historical scarcity of jobs and resources, leading to the control of access through bureaucracy.

It mentions that British rule left behind bureaucracy and scarcity, and that Indian officers were paid less than British officers, leading to corruption.

The tradition of presenting the Indian budget at 5 PM IST continued until 1999, when Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha changed it to 11 AM.