Muslim women hold placards while wearing burqa and hijab to stage a demonstration in support of female Muslim students, in Bengaluru, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022.
Highlights
- The Hijab ban issue has refused to die down as Muslim girls are adamant on wearing hijab to college
- Muslim girls argue that ban on Hijab violates right to freedom of religion enshrined in Constitution
- While BJP has stood in support of uniform rules, Congress has come out in support of Muslim girls
The Karnataka High Court will hear a petition challenging the hijab ban in several colleges in the state. The matter reached the court after five girls from Udupi’s government junior college moved a plea, questioning the restriction on wearing hijab in college. They said that the ban violates the right to freedom of religion enshrined in Article 25 of the Constitution.
The state government had on February 5 issued an order making uniforms prescribed by it or managements of private institutions mandatory for its students at schools and pre-university colleges in the state.
The issue has refused to die down across the state as a section of Muslim girls are adamant on wearing hijab to college, while the state government has cracked the whip making uniforms mandatory for students attending classes in educational institutions.
There have been several instances during the last few days where some Muslim girl students, turning up in hijab, were not being allowed into classes, and Hindu boys responding with saffron shawls, also being barred from classes.
The hijab row has now taken a political colour. While the ruling BJP has stood strongly in support of uniform-related rules, the opposition Congress has come out in support of protesting Muslim girls.
On Monday, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai called on students to adhere to rules issued by the government on uniforms.
"The matter is before the high court and it will be decided there. Therefore, I appeal to everyone to maintain peace and no one should take steps to disturb the peace. All should follow the state's order (on uniform) and the court's decision will come and, therefore, we will take steps," he told reporters after landing in the national capital.
Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar said that the hijab row has dented the image of the nation at the global level.
"The coastal districts have their own historical background. The districts have contributed to the banking, education and medical sectors immensely. However, at present times, the resources are not utilized, instead seeds of poison are sowed in the minds of young children and destroyed by provocations. There is a conspiracy to change the good traditions," he added.
The issue that initially began in January at a Government PU College in Udupi where six students who attended classes wearing headscarves in violation of the stipulated dress code were sent out, has spread to a few other colleges in the city and in nearby Kundapur and Byndoor.
There have also been reports of similar instances of students turning up at educational institutions with either hijab or saffron shawl in Ramdurg PU College in Belagavi and a college in Hassan, Chikkamagaluru and Shivamogga, and also a group of girls staging demonstration in Mysuru and Kalaburagi in favour of the hijab.
READ MORE: Two held with 'lethal weapons' in Udupi near students' protest site over Hijab ban
