What’s The Issue About?
New Year should be celebrated by gifting flowers to each other, enjoying, partying, etc. But in Karnataka this was not the case. Some Muslim students were denied entry in colleges as they were wearing the Hijab. The Pre-University College in Udupi had disallowed wearing of hijab as a uniform violation. The girls insisted that hijab was a part of their faith and they would use the college’s dupatta to make the hijab. These brave girls decided to protest against the college authorities and it spread into a statewide issue.The case was brought to the attention of the media by Ansar Ahmed, the district president of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike.
What Is The College's Stand?
Rudre Gowda, the principal of the Udupi college, said that students used to wear Hijab to the campus and entered the classroom after removing the scarves.
“The institution did not have any rule on Hijab-wearing as such and since no one used to wear it to the classroom in the last 35 years. The students who came with the demand had the backing of outside forces,” Gowda said.
Court’s Stand
Several petitions were filed in the Karnataka High Court on January 31 in which Muslim students sought the right to wear Hijabs in classrooms under Article 14, 19 and 25 of the Constitution of India. The court heard it for the first time on February 8.
The High Court, in its interim order pending consideration of all such petitions, last week restrained all the students from wearing saffron shawls, scarves, hijab and any religious flag within the classroom. The Government’s Stand
The Karnataka government justified the ban on hijab inside classrooms under its 1983 Education Act. In a February 5 order, it said that under Section 133 of the act, the government reserves the right to issue appropriate directions to schools and colleges to ensure maintenance of public order.
It further said that in colleges that fall under the Karnataka Board of Pre-University Education, dress code prescribed by the College Development Committee or the administrative supervisory committee must be followed. If the administration does not fix a dress code, clothes that do not threaten equality, unity, and public order must be worn.
On Thursday, the state government said that the hijab row persists only in eight high schools and pre-university colleges of the total 75,000 such institutions in the state. The government has expressed confidence in resolving the issue.
In an attempt to calm tensions, the Karnataka government temporarily closed schools last week but ordered their gradual reopening this week. Current Situation
Even after the High Court interim order, the controversy refuses to die down as some students remain adamant to be allowed to attend classes with 'hijab' and 'burqa' on Thursday as well.