Campus codes

This week,the principal of a north Kashmir college,was waylaid by masked gunmen so that they could intimidate him with an ultimatum: that he implement within days a dress code for the 3000 women students on his campus. Muhammad Ashraf,a well-known Islamic scholar,however says he will not submit to the demand. The incident,the first of its kind in two years,is reminiscent of the fear militants spread seven years ago to force women in the Valley to conform to a dress code dictated by them. The Dangiwacha police say they are trying to trace the identity of Ashrafs attackers,but that they also have not yet ruled out the possibility of a college rivalry.

Ashraf must be applauded for rebuffing his attackers demands. And in doing so,he highlights the onus on college administrators to make sure that campuses are spaces of as many freedoms as possible for young persons. Just two months ago,an organisation claiming to represent college principals in Uttar Pradesh issued a no-jeans dress code for women students. In fact,some Kanpur colleges had announced just such a dress code. The UP government,to its credit,immediately and firmly directed district magistrates and vice-chancellors to ensure that no student was coerced into a dress code.

Even as the police investigate the Dangiwacha incident,the Jammu and Kashmir administration should consider acting similarly. No matter what the story of the violence visited upon Ashraf,whether it reflects a renewed militant plan for moral policing or whether it be institutional rivalry,the fact is that such incidents create apprehensions. To know that the state and college administrations regard individual liberties non-negotiable is important for young persons. Just stating this,no matter what the provocation,is valuable.