DU convocation ceremony: President Murmu hails excellence, diversity

Out of the 157,290 students who received their degrees for undergraduate and postgraduate courses on Saturday, 54.7% were women while 45.3% were men. At the ceremony, a total of 170 students, including 51 men and 119 women, were given medals.

The increasing number of women receiving more awards in academics depicts the picture of a developed India, President Droupadi Murmu said on Saturday at the 99th convocation ceremony of the Delhi University, as more than half of the over 158,000 students receiving their degrees were women.

Delhi University vice-chancellor Yogesh Singh, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan applaud as President Droupadi Murmu confers a degree on a student at the 99th convocation ceremony on Saturday. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO)

The President, who was the chief guest at the occasion, also hailed the varsity for reflecting the richness and diversity of India, and its contribution to excellence in every area in the country and abroad owing to the illustrious alumni the university has produced.

Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and DU vice-chancellor Yogesh Singh were also present at the ceremony. Speaking at the ceremony, Murmu said, “It can be said that Delhi University reflects India in all its richness and diversity. It can also be said that there is a bit of Delhi University in every area of excellence in India and abroad. The list of illustrious alumni of the university is long and formidable.”

She added that it was a matter of pride for DU that 52% of the students enrolled at the undergraduate level for the academic session 2022-23 are women. “I am also happy to see that the number of women receiving awards at the function is more than men this year. This change depicts the picture of a developed India.”

Out of the 157,290 students who received their degrees for undergraduate and postgraduate courses on Saturday, 54.7% were women while 45.3% were men. At the ceremony, a total of 170 students, including 51 men and 119 women, were given medals.

The university also scripted history by awarding 910 PhD degrees this year, the highest ever in the 99 years of its establishment. In doctorate degrees too, women were ahead as 512 female students secured their degrees on Saturday, against 398 awarded to male students.Around 173,443 students were awarded digital degrees by DU last year. Additionally, 802 students were conferred PhD degrees, which was the highest-ever till 2022.

“This is the highest number ever in the history of our university and India too. This time, PhD degrees were awarded to 910 students of which 512 are female and 398 are male students. It’s a good thing that our daughters are performing very well,” said VC Singh.

Another highlight at the ceremony was the new convocation attire in the form of angavastras (stoles) introduced this year.In place of the usual robes and caps, students were donned in yellow, turquoise, and red stoles, according to their degrees. Students completing their undergraduate degree wore a yellow angavastra, postgraduate students wore turquoise, and PhD scholars donned red stoles. Jwalanat Kumar, who secured a PhD from the Department of Sanskrit, wore a red stole over a traditional dhoti kurta for the ceremony. Kumar, 30, was ecstatic that the ceremony was promoting traditional Indian attire. “We are connecting with our Indian roots. The gown is a colonial practice and I am happy that the varsity decided to replace gown,” said Kumar.

While students said that the new attire looked more colourful, many were of the view that the gown could have been retained since it was universally associated with convocation ceremonies.

“Getting used to this new dress code is nice but the gown and the cap have their own charm. Wearing the gown and cap gives one a feeling of accomplishment,” said Tejal Dua, who secured an undergraduate degree. Hue, a 32-year-old native of Vietnam, and her friend Nguyen Thi, also from Vietnam, stood out among the sea of attendees in their grey-coloured Buddhist robes. The PhD scholars too said that the gown would have been a much better option. “I love the gown and had always dreamt of wearing one for the convocation over my traditional robe,” said Hue, who prefers to use her first name, and secured her PhD in Buddhist Studies from DU. “This Indian attire is also good, but the gown would have also been nice,” said Nguen.

Eche Wangnyu, a native of Nagaland, also rued the absence of the gown. Wangnyu wore a red stole over her traditional attire worn by the Konyak tribe in Nagaland. She wasn’t too happy with the choice of colour either.”I prefer the gown over the stole. It would be better if the university allows students to rent the dress in the future since the stole can be expensive,” said Wangnyu, who secured a PhD in anthropology.

The main aim of education , the President said, is to become a better human being. “Being big in life is a good thing, but being good is even bigger.”