Representational.
New Delhi: Medical colleges must design an appropriate “India dress code” to replace the black robes and caps, a “colonial legacy”, for graduating students at convocations, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said an order issued on Friday. The ministry said that the tradition of graduating students wearing the Western style attire needed to be changed, The Hindu reported.
In an order to medical institutes in the country, the ministry claimed that the attire originated in the Middle Ages and was introduced by the British to their colonies.
The order read, “It has been decided by the Ministry that the various Institutes of the Ministry, including All India Institute of Medical Sciences/Institutes of National Importance engaged in imparting medical education will design appropriate India dress code for the Convocation Ceremony of their Institute based on local traditions of the State in which the Institute is located.”
Further, the ministry asked the medical institutions in the country to float proposals on convocation attires, which it will approve.
In 2022, the National Medical Commission (NMC) had proposed to abolish the Hippocratic oath and bring the ‘Charak Shapath” in its place for the graduation ceremony for doctors, Hindustan Times reported.
The news portal quoted the minutes of an NMC discussion in February 2022, “No Hippocratic Oath. During the white coat ceremony (with parents), the oath will be “Maharishi Charak Shapath” present on the NMC website.”
One of the members in NMC confirmed the meeting with the Hindustan Times and the discussion on the proposal then. He said then that no final decision had been made during the meeting.
However, the move did not progress further.