No black graduation caps please, we are Kannadigas

If Karnataka’s medical education minister Ramachandra Gowda has his way, convocation ceremonies in universities of Karnataka could see guests turn up in the traditional Mysore Peta instead of the black graduation cap.

Gowda seems to have been impressed by environment minister Jairam Ramesh’s tirade against the gown last Friday when he termed the traditional convocation robe as a “barbaric colonial practice” and took it off.

“I fail to understand why we stick to the same colonial practices even after 60 years of Independence,” Ramesh told young graduates at the Indian Institute of Forest Management’s convocation ceremony.

Gowda has taken Ramesh’s observation seriously.  “I welcome Jairam Ramesh’s statement on doing away with the gown. I will discuss the issue with higher education minister Aravinda Limbavali and other officials to examine if the ceremonial attire could be made to reflect the local ethos and heritage.”

Gowda admitted that he too felt uncomfortable wearing the long gown and the cap. “I have also participated in several convocations and felt the same as Ramesh.”