Patna: Governor Lal Ji Tandon has approved a dress code for participants at annual convocations of all state universities.

The ceremonial caps, seen as a legacy of colonial rule, would be replaced by the Malaviya pagadi (turban) - popularised by Madan Mohan Malaviya, educationist and founder of Banaras Hindu University (BHU), who was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2014 by the Narendra Modi government.

For the convocation ceremonies, the pagadis would be laced with Sujani artwork that originated in Bihar.

Tandon's predecessor Satya Pal Malik had in July this year constituted a three-member committee to suggest a swadeshi uniform to be worn by scholars and guests attending university convocations. Tandon, who took over as governor - ex-officio chancellor of all Bihar universities - on August 23, has now given his approval to the new dress code.

Under the new norms, the chancellor has to wear a white Malaviya pagadi. The pagadi of other guests and students will have to be of lemon yellow shade.

Gentlemen graduates have to wear white kurta pyjama or white dhoti kurta. Lady graduates have to wear salwar (white) and kurta (lemon yellow) or sari (lemon yellow).

All dignitaries, including the chancellor, vice-chancellor, students and the chief guest, will have to wear a yellow Angvashtram.

Raj Bhavan sources said the new dress code is a step in replacing "colonial convocation robes" with "Indian attire".

The governor's decision has triggered allegations that this was yet another case of "saffronisation of higher education".

RJD MLA and spokesperson Bhai Virendra said: "It is a Talibani diktat. The chancellor's office with its new directive is going to implement the agenda of the RSS. There should be no restriction on the dress code."

Even JDU MLA and former minister Shyam Rajak has reservations. "There is no harm in introducing the Malaviya pagadi for convocations, but the government and the chancellor's office should focus more on development of higher education," he said.

Educationists too expressed concern over the new dress code. Retired history teacher of Patna University, Bharti S Kumar, said: "The move is confusing. By introducing all such steps the government aims to prove that they are moving a step ahead in accepting Swadeshi."

Kumar, who spent 42 years at Patna University as a teacher, said: "I have never heard of such dress codes for convocations. In 1969, when I was a student at Kanpur University, the administration had introduced an Angvashtram replacing the convocation gown, but later the university discontinued with the practice."

In June 2017, IIT Kanpur students wore kurta pyjamas (for boys) and salwar kameez (for girls) during their convocation ceremony. In 2016, IIT Bombay chose khadi over colonial gowns as the official attire for their convocation ceremony.

Sources said that while finalising the dress code, the committee went through all aspects of Indian tradition and culture. The committee, which comprised Nalanda Open University vice-chancellor R.K. Sinha, Lalit Narayan Mithila University, Darbhanga, vice-chancellor S.K. Singh and Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University vice-chancellor S.N. Jha, consulted faculty members of the National Institute of Fashion Technology while fixing the uniforms.

The Bihar chancellor's office has directed all state universities to fix their annual convocation as usual in the month of November. They can be moved to December only after getting approval from the chancellor.