An image of a group of students seated in an auditorium wearing kurtas and saffron scarves is viral on social media with false claims. The posts claim that Uttaranchal University has, for the first time, done away with black graduation day robes and instructed all its students to wear saffron scarves instead. Apart from this, the convocation images on the website indicate that Uttaranchal University has not mandated a single colour as part of the dress code. In addition to saffron, blue and maroon scarves were also worn by the students.
A viral Facebook post shares the picture with a Hindi caption translating to “Ending a British tradition of awarding degrees to students in black graduation gown, Uttaranchal University this year awarded degrees to students dressed in saffron scarves. Our country is changing”.
In 2013, IIT-BHU students adopted Indian traditional wear for their graduation, ditching the old custom of wearing black gowns. In July 2015, UGC Secretary Dr. Jaspal S. Sandhu wrote a letter to all universities and asked them to consider handloom garments as formal wear on occasions like convocation ceremony. The letter states that not only are handloom textiles an integral part of the country’s rich culture and heritage, but they also provide livelihoods to lakhs of rural Indians. In June 2017, the Uttarakhand government had announced that convocation gowns would not be allowed in the state, after the then Chief Minister Trivendra Rawat had refused to wear the traditional robe at Dehradun-based University of Petroleum and Energy Studies’ convocation. The Times of India had reported in November 2017, that the state’s Higher Education Minister Dhan Singh Rawat said that a traditional dress would be finalised and graduating students will wear dresses in ‘pahadi-style and colours.’
In October 2018, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar had appealed to all universities to ask students to wear Indian wear instead of British-inspired garments at their convocation ceremonies. Universities in India have taken such decisions even before the BJP government came to power.
Thus, it was found that the convocation took place in February 2020, wherein the students wore traditional outfits as prescribed by the state government. Moreover, the scarves were colour-coded according to the different departments at the university and had nothing to do with religion.
