Click to play videoIn just over 24 hours from now, India will be celebrating its independence day. All through this Independence Day week, CNN-IBN and Hindustan Times present a survey on how Indian society has changed since Independence. On Thursday, the topic of discussion was what Indians feel about a dress code.
No one dresses up in as many different shades as Indians do with jeans, skirts or kurta pyjamas, salwar suits and sarees and many other dresses a part of the wardrobe. But school and college authorities have often come down heavily against youngsters dressing up, a bit too casually.
The panel of experts included fashion designer Rina Dhaka, Principal of Mount Carmel School, New Delhi, VK Williams; Principal of Vaishnav College for Women, Chennai, Nirmala Prasad and Chairman, Delhi Minorities Commission, Kamal Farooqui.
Should there be a dress code in public? |
41% feel there should be a dress code in public |
59% or 6 out of 10 feel people should be free to wear what they want |
7 out of 10 in the North are against a dress code |
53% in small towns feel there should be a dress code |
Do you support educational institutes banning students from wearing western clothes? |
69% support educational institutes banning students from wearing western clothes |
31% don't support educational institutes that ban students from wearing western clothes |
Do you support girls wearing western dresses in public places? |
38% find nothing wrong if girls wear western dresses in public places |
62% opposed to girls wearing western dresses in public places |
52% in the north support girls wearing western dresses in public |
Only 30% in the south support girls wearing western dresses in public |
Is wearing traditional dresses like burqa, a sign of suppression of women? |
72% see traditional dresses like burqa as a symbol of suppression |
28% don't find burqa to be a symbol of suppression |
6 out of 10 Muslim respondents saw burqa as a sign of suppression |
Is a woman dressed up in revealing western clothes of low moral values? |
49% view a woman dressed up in revealing western clothes as having low moral values |
51% don't see woman dressed up in revealing western clothes as having low moral values |
Do TV and films influence the way people dress up? |
91% or 9 out of 10 agree that TV and films influence the way people dress up |
9% feel TV and films don't influence the way people dress up |
Does the media promote nudity and sexuality in the way people dress up in society? |
96% feel the media is to be blamed for promoting nudity and sexuality in the way people dress up |
4% don't blame the media |
Methodology of the survey
The CNN-IBN-Hindustan Times poll was conducted by GfK Mode in street corners and homes in 16 cities (metros, large towns and small towns) spread across the four zones of the country. 3,506 people were interviewed between July 19 and 23 for the survey.
According to the survey 41 per cent people support a dress code in public but when it comes to taking a view on what women should wear almost 62 per cent feel that women should not be wearing western cloths. How does it reflect on the Indian society?
Rina Dhaka started the debate arguing that imposing a dress code could not be justified.
"It is matter of shame. It is not so about Indian clothes or western clothes. There are elements even in the so-called Indian clothes which are completely western in nature. So this whole gamut of believing what is western and what is India is not true. What appears to be Indian may be western in clothing. I think it is absurd. It could be hypocrite or it could be about safety. One could feel that one is safer in Indian clothes. It is sad that when you walkout in a sleeveless top or shorts when it is hot, these are normal clothes. But every one stares making the person uncomfortable," said Rina.
Nirmala Prasad did not agree with Rina saying schools, colleges and work place must impose a dress code.
"I strongly feel that there should be a dress code for not only women but men too especially in educational institutions. There is something called dress sense. People were certain dress when they for worship and they also have a choice when they go for parties. Similarly when they come to work place and educational institutions there should be a dress code. It should be a decent dress whether it is western or Indian. There should be some discipline which we expect both at the work place and at the educational institutions. It is some form of discipline. We consider schools and colleges as temples of learning. So we expect students to concentrate on their education and not get distracted by dresses," said Nirmala.
Rina countered Nirmala saying, "At schools it helps to have uniforms as it helps them to concentrate. But by the time they reach college it is matter of joy to express themselves. Fashion and music are forms of expression and they must carry that."
Mount Carmel School had suspended a class VIII student for a month for wearing a low rise trouser and the school's principal VK Williams claimed that a dress code was a form of discipline.
"In schools we have dress code and law. Whatever goes on outside school premises may be fashion but it should not be introduced into the school. Our bodies are temples of god and should be so dressed and so honoured when they look at us, they will look with honour. If you enforce discipline in schools the question will not arise as to why we should enforce discipline outside schools," said Williams.
Williams found an ally in Kamal Farooqui who argued that being a citizen of a democratic country does not give a person the right to dress as he or she pleases Farooqui said that one must always be sensitive towards the society.
"It is not a question of respect of disrespect to the body. What wee are saying is that we have to be concerned about the society. Society should behave in a proper manner and give respect to mankind. Democracy does not mean free-for-all everywhere. It has got some limitations also. Our children are not mature enough. We have to train them. If we train them properly and the present behave properly I am pretty sure the children will do the same," said Farooqui.
Second part of the debate was on dress code and religion.
Is it right to display our religion through our style of dressing? |
50% feel its right to display our religion through our style of dressing |
50% feel it's wrong to display our religion through our style of dressing |
57% Muslims and 49% Hindus feel it's right to display their religion through their style of dressing |
62% in the South feel it's okay to display religion through style of dressing |
When Farooqui's attention was drawn to the survey's finding that a majority of the respondents viewed wearing a burqa as a sign of suppression within the Muslim society, he replied, "It is an aberration. It is not correct. The traditional burqa that most Indian Muslim women wear will perhaps be seen as suppression. But as far as hijab is concerned and covering your head is concerned or covering your arms is concerned… is not suppression. Islam teaches that we have to protect women and that is the reason that women have been given a very special place in Islamic society. Koran very clearly defines the dress code for women and even for men."
Williams was of the opinion that religion should have no place in educational institutions.
"I am against religion being introduced in school because it divides man from man. Every one should be searching god and that should be the focal point of teaching. If dress code is religious it divides one child from another. I personally feel that the words religion must be totally removed from the thinking of the children," he said.
Rina was in favour of equality for all students irrespective of their religion and argued that small religious symbols should be allowed.
"I agree that all schools should treat students equally and there should be no discrimination of grounds of religion. At college level they are adults and should be allowed to wear what ever they want. For inconspicuous religious symbols there should be some flexibility," said the fashion designer.
Farooqui also spoke in favour of allowing religious symbol saying, "Having some kind of religious symbols should be no harm. Williams is totally wrong. What is harm in Sikhs wearing turbans or kada (iron bangle) or someone wearing a tabij or keeping a beard?
But Williams did not subscribe to Farooqui or Rina's views.
"Religion was not created by god. It was created by man. It divides man from man. Anything which divides you and me is my enemy, your enemy. We should not inject religion into out children and country. We are all created equal," he argued.
Nirmala concluded the debate by saying that whatever the dress be, it should be decent.
"India has a diverse culture. I don't think we can prevent children from wearing the dress of their states as long as it is decent," she said.
Watch this space for Friday's State of the Nation: The role of the media and the information boom
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