MP,ministers refuse to wear gown in convocation

The convocation gown famously described by Union Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh as a barbaric colonial relic continues...

The convocation gown famously described by Union Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh as a barbaric colonial relic continues to get a dressing down in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh.

More and more ruling party leaders are discarding the gown in public and ensuring that the annual convocations of universities are remembered for reasons that are not exactly academic.

Indore MP Sumitra Mahajan,Minister of State for Medical Education Mahendra Hardia and Indore mayor Krishnamorari Moghe joined the growing list of anti-gown brigade when they refused to wear it during the convocation of Indores Devi Ahilya University on Wednesday.

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The tempo was built by ABVP members who were protesting on the same issue. The police arrested 28 ABVP activists who insisted that the colonial gown was a sign of slavery.

While Governor and Chancellor Rameshwar Thakur wore the gown on Wednesday,BJP leaders said they would like the coordination committee of universities to take a call on an Indian replacement.