Panjab University announces competition to design new academic costume

Panjab University (PU) has announced a competition to design the academic costume for the upcoming annual convocation. This comes as the varsity had failed to adopt traditional Indian attire for the last two convocations.
The notice for the competition has been issued by the PU registrar and chairperson of the committee formed for changing the attire. Different costumes have to be made for both males and females for undergraduate toppers, post graduate toppers, PhD degree awardees, the syndics, senators and fellows.
Designs can be submitted through e-mail at [email protected] on or before May 20 till 5.00 pm.
This year, the 71st annual convocation was held on March 7. In a previous senate meeting held to approve Honoris Causa degrees and PU Ratna awards, senator Davesh Moudgil had highlighted how in the last convocation a committee to consider traditional attires for convocation would be set-up, but no progress had been made. Moudgil, who had shown up for the convocation in Indian attire as a protest, criticised the varsity for not coming up with an updated academic costume, two years in a row.
According to the minutes of the meetings held on February 23 and 26, the committee deliberated about introducing Nehru jackets and stoles for the PU senators and the awardees. Due to shortage of time, the committee had tried to decide on a new attire just for the PU senate and syndicate members. However, for the awardees, this couldn’t be done in time and the authorities decided to consider it in the next convocation rather than approve something in a haste.
The main issue, as per a committee member, was coming up with a free-size garment, like a gown, which isn’t possible for a Nehru jacket. Further. The colours of the gown are specified in the PU calendar and the same would also have to be carried over for the new costume. The committee wanted to decide patiently as the updated costume is expected to carried over year after year after it is changed.
The change will have to be accepted by the regulations committee before it is cleared and will later need the senate’s approval. In contrast, Punjab Engineering College (PEC) senate had approved traditional attire for its convocation in September 2022. In 2019, the University Grants Commission (UGC) had issued a circular to all public and private universities, urging them to ditch the gowns and to adopt traditional attire for convocations.