The winds of change are blowing wild and free across the Universities in Rajasthan. The Convocation ceremony, which marks the culmination of an important phase in a student’s life, is almost synonymous with flowing gowns and flying hats. But blowing with the wind is the change in the convocation dress. The Universities across the state are now planning to replace the gowns and hats with Indian attire as the ceremonial dress code.
The traditional convocation gowns and hats are symbols of ‘colonialism’ and the change aims to get over the colonial hangover and promote Indian culture instead. This shift is being credited to the Governor of Rajasthan, and the Chancellor of the Universities, Kalyan Singh, who wanted universities in the state to discourage wearing ‘convocation gowns/hats’ for their convocation as he believed they are symbols of colonialism.
At the sixth Convocation of the Rajasthan Technical University (RTU), Kota, held in Kota on April 20, 2016, engineering graduates, faculty members, the board of management members, academic council members and all other office bearers of the University were seen in traditional Indian white attire. While the men chose white colored shirts/pants/kurta- pajamas/Jodhpuri suits, the women wore white sarees or white salwar suits. The members of the management board and academic council gave the Convocation Hat a miss and instead sported Rajasthani turban; the students did not wear any headgear.
Professor NP Kaushik, Vice-Chancellor, RTU, Kota, said that the instruction for a change in the ceremonial dress came from Kalyan Singh, Governor of Rajasthan, following which all the Universities are now insisting on Indian attire for their
convocation ceremonies.
The third Convocation of the University of Kota held in March too saw the white Indian attire as the ceremonial dress.
Students have welcomed this change in convocation dress. Azad Singh, who received his doctorate at the convocation ceremony at the University of Kota, said that Indian attire is more pleasant and convenient to wear as compared to the earlier Convocation Gowns/Hats. Another student, Shivani Kumari said that there was no logic in wearing heavy gowns and caps during the convocation. “The attire not only promotes Indian culture but is also easy to carry,” she said. Om Nagar, however, said that the feeling of being one in the convocation attire is missing as some women students were wearing sarees and some salwar-kurta while men were mostly dressed in kurta-pajama and some pant-shirt or Jodhpuri suit.