Convocation ceremonies are seen as the culmination of an important phase in student life, so major universities around the world choose to send off young graduates with much pomp and show where flying caps and colourful robes have become very much part of a tradition. But, this might not be the case anymore in many Indian universities as they seek to replace the “colonial convocation robes" with "Indian attire" as the ceremonial dress code.
Last week, University of Hyderabad erupted in protests from various students wings after it followed the guidelines of University Grants Commission and asked graduates to wear Indian dresses instead of ceremonial robes for the convocation scheduled to take place on October 1. While men were asked to wear kurta-pajamas or dhotis, women were directed to wear a sari or salwar-kameez made of handloom cotton or silk.
About 100 students came out in protest and threatened to boycott the convocation if the university didn’t go back on its decision. The Students Federation of India wing at the campus took the lead in organising protests and public meetings and condemned the move as another attempt at “saffronisation” of the campuses.
“We see it as a clear attempt of saffronisation of the academic space in the name of promoting Indian culture and handloom industry,” the SFI said in a statement. “We believe that it is a nefarious attempt to impose the RSS idea of Indian culture in the garb of promoting the handloom industry.”
Limiting sartorial freedoms
The student body argued that in satisfying the wishes of the ministry of human resources development, the university will financially burden the students for buying those outfits and said that the “imposition of a certain dress code also curtails the freedom of the students to wear a dress of their choice”.
Even though the university said that it would ensure that students could hire angavastrams for the ceremony for Rs 200, the protests didn’t stop as the students argued that their freedom to wear something of their choice was being taken away.
"This is nothing but a strategy of maintaining cultural hegemony of the ruling class,” Harinath Siluveru, a PhD scholar of the university told the Times of India. “Why should lungi not be allowed? What is the relation between a student receiving a degree she has achieved and the dress she is wearing while she receives it?"
Beating a retreat
Reacting to the criticism generated by its move, the university authorities clarified on Monday that the guidelines were only “indicative and suggestive”. They said in a press note: “University always respects the personal choice of wearing the clothes and clarifies that the dress prescribed for the convocation is only indicative and suggestive.”
Even though the dust seems to be settling down on the controversy in Hyderabad, the debate on the effectiveness of replacing one dress code with another is raging across the country as universities rush to follow the UGC's directives.
Even though Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay has followed a dress code of Indian kurta for men for decades now, students this year expressed disappointment because of not being able to choose what to wear.
"We were supposed to wear white kurta pajama with an orange angavastram which is not as comfortable as a robe," said an ex-student from the institute. "I would not want to wear anything remotely saffron but we had to wear it on the most important day of our lives. Universities should be more liberal with their dress codes and just let students dress up the way they want to be. It doesn't matter if it is Indian or not, what purpose do these diktats serve anyway?"
Colonial heritage?
In July, the UGC wrote a letter addressed to the vice chancellors of all universities in which they were "requested to consider” shifting to handloom fabrics for costumes to be worn on special occasions. The letter underlined the Prime Minister’s appeal for revival of Indian handlooms and specified that ceremonial robes made from Indian fabrics would be a source of pride.
"Greater use of handloom garments for apparel would promote the handloom industry in the country," the letter said. "Accordingly, all the universities are requested to consider using handloom fabric for ceremonial dresses prescribed for special occasions like convocations. This may also be brought to the notice of the colleges affiliated to your university," it added.
Even though the UGC doesn’t bar universities from using ceremonial robes, Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik had already said in January that the universities across the state should seek to replace ceremonial robes with something more “simple”. He backed this up with a rather curious anecdote claiming that he hadn't been able to place a medal around a student's neck because of a square cap coming in the way.
"During my visits, I have found that universities organize extravagant convocations," Naik had told the vice chancellors and registrars. "This should be discouraged. Such events should be simple and have uniformity all over the State."
Following these nudges from both the authorities and the governing bodies, colleges around the country are slowly moving away from the ceremonial robes. And not all students are dissatisfied.
In July, Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University decided to do away with the ceremonial robes in favour of white trousers and shirts for men and saris for women even as it allowed salwar-kameez to be worn in exceptional cases.
This was also done by the Banaras Hindu University where students have fought a long battle against having to wear convocation robes on their graduation day following which the university prescribed dhoti-kurta and saris this year.
"The dress code of convocation symbolises British-era convention," Gunjesh Gautam Jha, a student who had insisted on receiving his BEd degree in a dhoti and kurta in 2013 told the Times of India. "Now, when the Britishers are gone, why should we continue with their tradition?"
This was also the case at the Sampuranand Sanskrit University in Varanasi where students were irked at the practice of wearing “colonial gowns” to the convocation ceremony. Hundreds of students walked out of the ceremony even before the arrival of the chief guest to protest against the university’s insistence on this attire.
Even though the university didn’t issue a formal statement after the incident, the Vice Chancellor Binda Prasad Mishra told reporters that the convocation gown was not English in nature but a dress of Indian kings and scholars.
Last week, University of Hyderabad erupted in protests from various students wings after it followed the guidelines of University Grants Commission and asked graduates to wear Indian dresses instead of ceremonial robes for the convocation scheduled to take place on October 1. While men were asked to wear kurta-pajamas or dhotis, women were directed to wear a sari or salwar-kameez made of handloom cotton or silk.
About 100 students came out in protest and threatened to boycott the convocation if the university didn’t go back on its decision. The Students Federation of India wing at the campus took the lead in organising protests and public meetings and condemned the move as another attempt at “saffronisation” of the campuses.
“We see it as a clear attempt of saffronisation of the academic space in the name of promoting Indian culture and handloom industry,” the SFI said in a statement. “We believe that it is a nefarious attempt to impose the RSS idea of Indian culture in the garb of promoting the handloom industry.”
Limiting sartorial freedoms
The student body argued that in satisfying the wishes of the ministry of human resources development, the university will financially burden the students for buying those outfits and said that the “imposition of a certain dress code also curtails the freedom of the students to wear a dress of their choice”.
Even though the university said that it would ensure that students could hire angavastrams for the ceremony for Rs 200, the protests didn’t stop as the students argued that their freedom to wear something of their choice was being taken away.
"This is nothing but a strategy of maintaining cultural hegemony of the ruling class,” Harinath Siluveru, a PhD scholar of the university told the Times of India. “Why should lungi not be allowed? What is the relation between a student receiving a degree she has achieved and the dress she is wearing while she receives it?"
Beating a retreat
Reacting to the criticism generated by its move, the university authorities clarified on Monday that the guidelines were only “indicative and suggestive”. They said in a press note: “University always respects the personal choice of wearing the clothes and clarifies that the dress prescribed for the convocation is only indicative and suggestive.”
Even though the dust seems to be settling down on the controversy in Hyderabad, the debate on the effectiveness of replacing one dress code with another is raging across the country as universities rush to follow the UGC's directives.
Even though Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay has followed a dress code of Indian kurta for men for decades now, students this year expressed disappointment because of not being able to choose what to wear.
"We were supposed to wear white kurta pajama with an orange angavastram which is not as comfortable as a robe," said an ex-student from the institute. "I would not want to wear anything remotely saffron but we had to wear it on the most important day of our lives. Universities should be more liberal with their dress codes and just let students dress up the way they want to be. It doesn't matter if it is Indian or not, what purpose do these diktats serve anyway?"
Colonial heritage?
In July, the UGC wrote a letter addressed to the vice chancellors of all universities in which they were "requested to consider” shifting to handloom fabrics for costumes to be worn on special occasions. The letter underlined the Prime Minister’s appeal for revival of Indian handlooms and specified that ceremonial robes made from Indian fabrics would be a source of pride.
"Greater use of handloom garments for apparel would promote the handloom industry in the country," the letter said. "Accordingly, all the universities are requested to consider using handloom fabric for ceremonial dresses prescribed for special occasions like convocations. This may also be brought to the notice of the colleges affiliated to your university," it added.
Even though the UGC doesn’t bar universities from using ceremonial robes, Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik had already said in January that the universities across the state should seek to replace ceremonial robes with something more “simple”. He backed this up with a rather curious anecdote claiming that he hadn't been able to place a medal around a student's neck because of a square cap coming in the way.
"During my visits, I have found that universities organize extravagant convocations," Naik had told the vice chancellors and registrars. "This should be discouraged. Such events should be simple and have uniformity all over the State."
Following these nudges from both the authorities and the governing bodies, colleges around the country are slowly moving away from the ceremonial robes. And not all students are dissatisfied.
In July, Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University decided to do away with the ceremonial robes in favour of white trousers and shirts for men and saris for women even as it allowed salwar-kameez to be worn in exceptional cases.
This was also done by the Banaras Hindu University where students have fought a long battle against having to wear convocation robes on their graduation day following which the university prescribed dhoti-kurta and saris this year.
"The dress code of convocation symbolises British-era convention," Gunjesh Gautam Jha, a student who had insisted on receiving his BEd degree in a dhoti and kurta in 2013 told the Times of India. "Now, when the Britishers are gone, why should we continue with their tradition?"
This was also the case at the Sampuranand Sanskrit University in Varanasi where students were irked at the practice of wearing “colonial gowns” to the convocation ceremony. Hundreds of students walked out of the ceremony even before the arrival of the chief guest to protest against the university’s insistence on this attire.
Even though the university didn’t issue a formal statement after the incident, the Vice Chancellor Binda Prasad Mishra told reporters that the convocation gown was not English in nature but a dress of Indian kings and scholars.
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