The Indian Institute of Technology, Jammu on Saturday hogged the headlines after the authorities were directed to change the proposed dress code for its maiden convocation ceremony at the last minute. Initially, the prestigious institute had decided to replace the traditional convocation robes with 'Pherans' and 'Pakols', the traditional Kashmiri attire.
Ironically, ahead of the convocation ceremony when certain quarters questioned the theme of the dress code, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Dr Jitendra Singh intervened in the matter to avoid adverse publicity during the special event.
In a late night tweet on Friday Dr Jitendra Singh tweeted, “Important! Sensitivities with regard to dress proposed for #IIT #Jammu #Convocation ceremony were conveyed to higher authorities. I've just now received a call from Director IIT Jammu,Prof Gaur clarifying that it will only be conventional Convocation Gown,No other attire & No cap”.
On Saturday after the event was over former Chief Minister and National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah further escalated the matter by targeting those opposed to the idea of wearing a 'pheran' during the convocation ceremony.
“Can’t even tolerate a pheran and this government wants Kashmiris to believe that it’s looking out for our sentiments & feelings. PMO intervened to have the dress code changed & that too just days after the PM addressed a function in Srinagar wearing a pheran”, Omar Abdullah tweeted.
As the war of words continued in the social media, senior authorities at IIT Jammu went in to damage control exercise and posted a brief statement on its official twitter handle claiming “IIT Jammu designed the convocation robe for its maiden convocation incorporating regional art and culture in collaboration with Unnat Bharat Abhiyan”.The statement further read as, “the Convocation robe was fabricated by a self help group from a nearby village.
The Convocation robe is a cloak crafted with Ghotta Patti work to beautifully blend the crafts from UT. The Angvastram represents the cultural heritage of the country in sync with other IIT's. This was the only attire for the convocation”. Meanwhile, during the convocation ceremony the first batch of 79 students from Mechanical, Electrical and Computer Science Engineering were conferred B Tech degrees.
“Out of a total of 79 passing out students, the ceremony hosted 38 students and their parents on campus while the other students received their certificates in a live Convocation stream arranged by the institute. Dr Arogyaswami J Paulraj- Professor Emeritus from Stanford University and Gurcharan Das, who is a celebrated author and columnist were the Chief guests on the occasion.