Because I think that it has been appropriated. Bandhani is a traditional tie-dye technique, with deep cultural and historial significance for the Rajasthani, even extending to Sindhi and Marwari sub-groups in the west of India and east of Pakistan - who comprise of nomadic and semi-nomadic artisans.

The word ‘bandhan/bandhana’ can have several meanings depending on the context - knot, relation(ship), or kerchief - they’re all related to each other, in the sense that this piece of clothing signifies relationship, and can be tied to the end of one’s cloth - just in the same way you can “build” a “building” in English, if that makes sense. One of the most identifiable parts of the bandhani is the parsely and floral pattern, as well as the use of non-pastel, dark dyes.

Now, I am neither a Rajasthani, nor from the north-western parts of India or eastern part of Pakistan, so it should be obvious that I don’t know much about them. Maybe some information over here is not true - and I’d appreciate correction. Personally, I feel like it is an extreme case of cultural appropriation in the sense that:

• the culture behind it has been erased, or people don’t bother doing enough basic research behind them

• it has been commodified and mass-produced as a fashion trend, which is disrespectful to the people, and has harmed their livelihood severely

• the patterns have a deep cultural, religious and social significance, so do the colors, and using them trivially again erases the original meaning behind them

The bandana culture (at least from my stereotype of American media) has been stolen collectively on different occasions by multiple subcultures - the hippies, the bikers, white supremacists, cowboys, gang members, black rights activists and even antifa/anarchists members, shifting the original symbolism from that of familial collectivism to something that is representative of rejection of government authority.

Unfortunately, as a very vulnerable group, they don’t have the voice to raise against this injustice, because obviously when basic needs are not met, people tend to ignore the erasure of their own identity and culture, and try to survive with what they can. The place that they live in is the antipode to the American continent, and obviously, that region does not receive a lot of attention, as opposed to western cities.