The sartorial straitjacket

Hit is part of Punjab8217;s ruling Akali Dal led by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, a man known for his moderate stance even in the face of severe provocation, but at times, even he has failed to restrain his party colleague. So far, the CM has maintained a stoic silence on this issue.

The only challenge to the dress code has come from Badal8217;s bete-noire, former SGPC chief Gurcharan Singh Tohra who termed it a 8220;cheap publicity gimmick8221;. But observers and religious scholars believe that Tohra8217;s views have more to do with his political opposition to the Badal camp rather than any conviction about opposing the mindset that triggers off such spasmodic outbursts of fundamentalism from radical elements in the community.

As expected, the community8217;s youth have reacted with shock at the very idea of imposing a sartorial straitjacket on them. 8220;It8217;s only a matter of time before they start dictating hemlines in schools and colleges. I am sure it would spread to cosmetics, about whether or not we can sport lipstick or mascara. There is something seriously wrong with those managing the affairs of the Panth. Instead of harvesting the energy of youth by getting the gurudwaras to enter movements like environmental preservation, these people are doing their best to repulse the youth away from religion,8221; said a senior humanities student.

The community has had a taste of imposed dress codes earlier during the dark years of terrorism in the late eighties, when 8220;the boys8221; dictated even the colour of turbans. A large number of schools in Punjab had banished skirts, and keeping the head covered was a must. But the fear of the gun worked only partially; soon, the interference in people8217;s personal lives made them see the fundamentalist face of the ultras.

8220;But we seemed to have learnt no lessons. On the one hand, we cry that youth are shunning religion. Then we do something to keep them away from it,8221; said a senior leader from the Badal camp.

However, there are those who uphold the philosophy behind such a diktat. 8220;The code is not necessary but the dress should be proper,8221; is the common refrain. However, the Sikh code of conduct, a document which has the backing of virtually the entire Sikh Panth, makes no mention of a dress code, but only states that those entering gurudwaras should cover their heads properly as a token of respect to the Guru Granth Sahib.

Dr Kirpal Singh, a leading Sikh scholar, said the diktat8217;s supporters should concentrate on explaining the philosophy behind visiting the gurudwara daily. 8220;One goes there to become part of the Sangat, to purify one8217;s mind. There is no prescription about dress. The clothing should not come in the way of one8217;s quest for a communion with the Guru,8221; he said.

Gurcharanjit Singh Lamba of the Panthic and Social Watchdog Group, a leading community thinktank which was the first to wave the red rag about amendments to the Gurudwara Act and the Nanakshahi calendar, feels that 8220;Each vocation chooses a dress appropriate to its calling. Nurses, lawyers have their own dress code. The one for visiting a gurudwara should be based on the premise that one goes in as a Sikh8217;, a student, to learn something. So the dress should be appropriate. You can8217;t wear partywear to school, can you?8221;

But what8217;s the sudden provocation for a dress code? 8220;Because girls have started wearing shorts exposing their legs in the gurudwaras, which distracts others,8221; argues Hit. 8220;The code should be applicable only during visits to the gurudwara. We are not telling them what to wear outside its threshold.8221;

Small mercy. Hit8217;s predecessor, Paramjit Singh Sarna has slammed the culture police who, he said, can hold no brief for setting standards of sartorial decency. 8220;There should first be a code banning consumption of liquor by Sikhs. Let Hit first impose a no-drinking code on members of his DSGMC.8221;

According to Dr Gurcharan Singh of Punjabi University, the fancy that the youth have taken to skirts or shorts has little to do with religion and more to do with the culture that satellite TV and the internet have rung in. Dr Kirpal Singh added that much depended on the environment. 8220;In the United Kingdom, everyone wears jeans. So jeans were not distracting. Here, jeans or skirts may be seen as distracting. But banning is no solution. If you deny something to the youth, then it suddenly becomes the most wanted thing. They would rather do what they have been barred from doing.8221;

Hit8217;s code has not evoked much support from his own party members, but then no voices have been heard against it either. This, felt Sukhdev Singh Bhaur, senior vice-president of the Sarb Hind Akali Dal, is a far more ominous development. 8220;Today, several Sikhs are not following even the most fundamental precepts of the religion. And here we go regulating hemlines. I know of DSGMC members whose children smoke. They can8217;t regulate their progeny but want others to obey their choices in clothing.8221;

What can only be achieved through persuasion is being sought to be imposed by way of bans. There8217;s no better way of turning away youth from the shrines.

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