October 3,2018:
On Tuesday, Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar appealed Universities across India to replace their "British-inspired" convocation attire with the traditional Indian Clothes as a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.
Asserting that Gandhi advocated use of Khadi, HRD Minister Javadekar suggested that the universities ask their students to come up with design options for traditional convocation attire.
He further added that,"Universities can ask their students to come up with design options or can also refer to some designs posted on HRD Ministry's website".
"Gandhi also advocated use of Khadi. Due to various initiatives, Khadi sale has gone up by four times hence paving way for creation of more jobs. This will be an apt tribute to him on his 150th birth anniversary," Javadekar stated.
In July 2015, University Grants Commission (UGC) had asked universities to consider using handloom fabric for ceremonial dresses being prescribed for special occasions like convocations.
Following that, many institutions of higher education, including IITs of Kanpur and Bombay introduced traditional attire for convocation ceremonies.
In a first IIT-BHU Convocation in July 2013, Men students wore white dhoti-kurta or pyjama-kurta and women students wore white sari or salwar-kurta, doing away with colonial black gown and hat.
Source The New Indian Express
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