Rajasthan: Saffron dress code in Ajmer government college

The Hindu
Apr 04, 2008


Furore over saffron dress code in Ajmer government college

Sunny Sebastian

JAIPUR: An alleged attempt by authorities to impose a code of dress in saffron colours for teachers and students has created furore in the Government College, Ajmer. At least four women lecturers were sent back last week for sporting salwar kameez and not adhering to the new code — sari and blouse.

Two of them were Muslims and they were turned away after they had signed the duty register. The college authorities have reportedly asked the teachers, who were shown leaving the college premises on local television, to keep quiet.

The dress code instructions, pasted on the door of the staff room and on the noticeboard, have, however, disappeared in the wake of wide-ranging protests. The authorities wanted men teachers not to wear jeans and T-shirts and switch to white pyjama and kurta. The recommended dress for girls was a saffron coloured pyjama and a pink kurta, while boys were asked to wear black trousers and white shirts.

The college, affiliated to the Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, is a co-educational institution with perhaps the largest student enrolment in the State. Over 100 of its 225-strong faculty are women.

The dress code “is a blatant attempt on the part of the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the State to saffronise education,” alleged P.C. Vyas, educationist and former chairman of the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education, Ajmer.

“The BJP plan is to take over the education sector to run it according to its own agenda. There is already unease among the managements of minority institutions over their future in the wake of the passage of the Rajasthan Religious Freedom Bill,” Prof. Vyas said.

One of the victims, Sunita Pachori, told The Hindu on the phone that she was not allowed to take classes on the day (last week) on account of her “disobedience.” Her colleagues Bharti Prakash, Kosar Aliya and Sabiya Khan had a similar experience.

“As such, over 50 per cent of the women teachers in our college already wear sari. However it is difficult to accept the Principal’s assertion that salwar suit is not a modest dress,” Ms. Pachori said.

“Muslim teachers are feeling victimised as they find the switchover from salwar kameez to sari difficult. Moreover, salwar suit is considered more modest than sari by the Muslim community,” pointed out Muzaffar Bharti, secretary, Muslim Ekta Manch, an apex body of the Ajmer Muslim panchayats. However, Principal Sher Singh Dochaniya, when contacted, denied government pressure to adopt the dress code or any attempt at saffronisation. “It is a well meaning attempt on our part,” he said conceding that there was opposition to it. “We were not acting on the directions of the government or the Minister,” Mr. Dochaniya said when asked about the charge that Minister of State for Education Vasudev Devnani, an RSS hardliner, was behind the move.

“The code was tried for three days in March and we were successful to a great extent,” he said expressing optimism over its acceptance.