Delhi University students were barred from wearing black clothes and some student leaders were “put under house arrest” when Prime Minister <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/narendra-modi/" target="_blank">Narendra Modi</a> attended the university's centenary celebrations. Mr Modi was the chief guest at Friday’s event organised by the university despite fears that some students may stage protests by wearing black on the campus and at affiliated colleges. It is not the first time the ban has been imposed at similar events. Here we look at why the ban was put in place. Wearing black clothes or displaying black paraphernalia such as flags is considered a mark of protest throughout South Asia, with Mr Modi’s <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/modi-government/" target="_blank">Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party government </a>often barring people wearing anything black from attending his events . “No black dress is to be worn that day. Students' attendance is mandatory and they will be given five attendances for attending the live streaming and it will be submitted to the college,” read a notice by one of the university’s affiliates, Hindu College. Many other affiliated colleges issued similar guidelines to their students and staff, according to media reports. While there is no rule or protocol, authorities in BJP-ruled states have imposed a blanket ban on everything black – clothes, accessories, or carrying black items, such as balloons or flags – while attending Mr Modi’s rallies or public events. Several people have been detained in the past for wearing anything black, including socks, while attending his rallies. In 2016, even party members were stopped from attending an election rally in Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari for wearing black clothing, including women wearing shawls. In 2018, a former legislator was arrested after releasing black balloons in protest at Mr Modi’s visit to Chennai. A Congress member was also arrested for setting a pigeon free with a black cloth tied to its legs. The same year police in the western state of Rajasthan strip searched villagers before Mr Modi's rally to ensure they were not carrying black clothes. Shirts, handkerchiefs and scarves were confiscated from the villagers. Opposition leaders in March wore black clothes to parliament to protest against the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/asia/2023/03/27/indias-opposition-leaders-storm-parliament-over-rahul-gandhis-expulsion/" target="_blank">disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi</a> from the house. Some opposition members waved black flags, forcing the speaker to adjourn the house. The Students’ Federation of India, a left-wing political organisation, called the guidelines “dictatorial directives”. “If making the presence of all students mandatory for the live screening of the event was not exasperating enough, the admin has also asked students to not wear any black dress,” the SFI said in a statement. Some student leaders from the All India Students' Association, also a left-wing organisation, were allegedly detained in their homes by Delhi Police in “the circle of suspicion” ahead of Mr Modi’s visit. The student body had said that the prime minister was not welcome on the campus because colleges were forcing students to attend the function and banning black clothing. While the origin of the use of black flags in India is uncertain, they have been used as a mark of protest since pre-independence days. Freedom fighter Lala Lajpat died of his injuries after he was gravely hurt in police action for greeting a group of British parliamentarians with black flags in 1928. In the US, anarchists in the 1880s used black flags as a symbol of “hunger, misery and death” under oppressive rule.