U’khand may take a leaf out of Takshila for convocation robe

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttarakhand is looking at ancient Hindu religious texts to find a replacement for the ceremonial robe introduced by the British for college graduation ceremonies.

The black robe-and-cap attire has been a subject of debate since a long time with many denouncing it as a relic of India’s colonial past and has gained currency since the BJP-led government assumed power at the Centre in 2014.

Uttarakhand’s higher education minster Dhan Singh Rawat said the government was in touch with experts to find out the attire people wore during academic convocations in ancient India.

“We are finding out about the dresses that were sported in Takshila,” he told HT on Saturday, referring to one of the earliest known universities dating back to 1000 BCE. Takshila is situated in present-day Rawalpindi in Pakistan.

“Moreover, in the Skanda Purana, there is a mention of an acharyakulam (school based on Vedic education) in Uttarakhand. It would be interesting to know what ceremonial dresses were in fashion in those times,” he added. The Skanda Purana is one of the earliest Vedic religious texts.

He said the government will form a committee that would give suggestions on a suitable dress for convocations. The state government’s move came days after chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat refused to wear the ceremonial robe during the convocation of the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies in Dehradun. The CM’s refusal had stunned dignitaries including Rawat, Union HRD minister Prakash Jawedkar and governor KK Paul, who had donned the ceremonial dress. In a series of tweets, the CM asked people to suggest whether the traditional ‘pichoda’ (women’s dress) and ‘payjama-kurta, jacket and cap’ (men’s dress) could be a substitute.