Sekhar Srinivas
Jamshedpur, Nov 19: A Senate member of Kolhan University, Chaibasa, Sonu Thakur on Wednesday strongly criticized the wearing of gown instead of putting on traditional swadeshi attire by passing out students of Jamshedpur Women’s University during its 3rd convocation celebration here.
Thakur, who was the General Secretary of BJP’s student wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), claimed the European educational attire gown was imposed on our educational system by Britishers sidelining Indian traditional swadeshi attire as a symbol of “slavery”.
A similar practice was being followed in the Kolhan University but we have implemented the swadeshi attire for passing out students during annual convocation celebration after Raghubar Das-headed government was elected to power in 2014, Thakur said.
ABVP had even staged protest against students wearing gown for convocation ceremony before then Jharkhand Governor and Chancellor of Universities Droupadi Murmu, now the President of India, Kolhan University Senate member said. Such decision is not only against the dignity of Indian culture but also exposed the slave mentality of the administration of the university, he alleged.
When the Prime Minister of the country himself has been promoting “vocal for local” and motivating to adopt swadeshi products, then the responsibility of educational institutions is to give a right direction to generation next, Thakur said regretting that using foreign attire in convocation function is really unfortunate.
Such approach was in disregard of Prime Minister’s initiatives and also encourages erosion of country’s culture, civilization and values, he opined. This practice sends wrong message in the society and undermine the sense of cultural leadership expected from institutions like universities, he said.
Thakur warned through media that we would not only oppose strongly but also stage protest against the programme democratically, if a similar practice recurred in Kolhan University. Swadeshi attire is our identity and it is the responsibility of educational institutions to preserve it and not turn away from it, he suggested.
Dr Anjali Gupta is Vice-Chancellor of both Kolhan University as well as Women’s University, Jamshedpur.
