The 114th convocation of the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), which saw students and varsity officials dressed in traditional wear, was marred by a sartorial controversy after the police took into custody student leaders protesting over the wearing of Puneri pagadi .
A few students affiliated to the student wings of political outfits like Loktantrik Janata Dal United, the Swabhimani Paksha, and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), among others, disrupted SPPU vice-chancellor Dr. Nitin Karmalkar’s speech during the ceremony at the main building.
They raised slogans against the wearing of the traditional turban demanding that a Phule pagadi ough to have been worn instead.
The Puneri pagadi , they said, symbolised the imposition of a ‘Peshwai (Brahmanical) mentality’ on education. Eight students were detained at the Chaturshringi police station before being released in the evening.
“We had earlier met the V-C to insist that the dignitaries and students wear a Phule Pagadi in memory and recognition of the immense contribution of Savitribai and Mahatma Jyotiba Phule in the field of education. More importantly, at a time when a rash of problems face students at the university, authorities are more concerned about making grandiose statements like imposition of a traditional dress code,” said Kuldeep Ambekar, leader of the student wing of the Loktantrik Janata Dal United.
Mr. Ambekar, who was among those detained by the police, told The Hindu that at a time when the State was facing a drought, the varsity ought to focus on relief efforts for students hailing from the hinterland instead of indulging in “convocation pageantry”.
The decision to shed the European convocation attire of black gown and cap and replace it with traditional kurta-pyajama, shawl, and the Puneri pagadi for boys, and salwar kameez, shawl and cap for girls was taken by varsity authorities earlier this month.
“The move is to signify that the Puneri turban is emblematic of our venerable tradition of learning and culture. Moreover, the black gown is not the most comfortable of attires. Hence, a decision to revert to traditional wear was taken after consulting all stakeholders,” Dr. N. S. Umrani, pro-Vice chancellor, SPPU, had said earlier this month.
Meanwhile, the Akhil Bharatiya Brahman Mahasangh (ABBM) condemned the actions of the dissenting students, remarking that they had “grievously insulted” the Puneri pagadi.
“Ever since Sharad Pawar played the caste card by welcoming OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal with a Phule pagadi last year, this controversy has needlessly snowballed and taken on a noxious caste colour. The Puneri pagadi symbolises, and is, the pride of the city’s glorious heritage and culture…it should not be insulted in such a crass manner,” said Anand Dave, president, ABBM.
The move to replace the western convocation attire had gathered momentum after Satyapal Singh, the Minister of State (MoS) for Human Resource Development suggested the need for a sartorial makeover during a visit to the city in 2017.
In the past, the varsity had reverted to traditional wear replete with the Puneri pagadi only once, during the convocation ceremony of the 1981-82 batch when Prof. Ram Takwale was the vice-chancellor.
At the time, it was none other than legendary litterateur P.L. Deshpande who had suggested that the convocation ceremony be Indianised.
A committee to implement the changes was constituted under renowned Indologist and scholar R.N. Dandekar, who had recommended that convocation addresses be delivered in Sanskrit.
However, this did not last long and the western convocation attire was back in vogue after a short while.
