Karnataka hijab row: High schools, colleges shut for 3 days

THE ongoing ‘hijab’ row in the southern Indian state of Karnataka has intensified so much so that state chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday (8) ordered the closure of all high schools and colleges in the state for the next three days.

Bommai in a tweet on Tuesday appealed for peace saying, “I appeal to all the students, teachers and management of schools and colleges as well as people of Karnataka to maintain peace and harmony. I have ordered closure of all high schools and colleges for next three days. All concerned are requested to cooperate [sic].”

The ban on ‘hijab’, a headscarf worn by Muslim women at several educational institutions in Karnataka has prompted the country’s minority community to protest strongly. Members of the Muslim community came out in large numbers on Monday (7) to express anger against the restrictions.

The stand-off in the state where prime minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in power has galvanised fears among the community about what allege is increasing prosecution in India in the saffron era.

“It’s discriminatory in nature and also it’s against the rights that are provided under the constitution of India,” Sumayya Roushan, president of the Girls Islamic Organisation Karnataka, said at a press conference on Monday.

She also said the ban violated “a personal choice that the students are entitled to, which doesn’t... harm any other person”.

Videos that went viral on social media showed hundreds of protesters gathering on roads and waving the Indian Tricolour in at least two towns in Karnataka, the latest in the demonstrations against the ban that are going on for several days now.

One of the schools that were hit by the fiasco partially yielded by allowing its female Muslim students to attend class wearing the hijab but asked the to sit in separate classrooms, according to local media reports.

Several prominent members of the ruling BJP have supported the ban while other political leaders have criticised it.

“By letting students’ hijab come in the way of their education, we are robbing the future of the daughters of India,” Rahul Gandhi, the former president of the opposition Indian National Congress, tweeted last week.

The matter also reached the state’s top court and it was expected to give a ruling on the matter soon.

The chief minister’s order to close schools comes amid incidents and protests over girls wearing the hijab in several institutions since December.

Protests spread across Karnataka

There were also reports of stone-pelting from the district of Shivamogga as a group of students wearing saffron scarves staged protest against hijabs.

A scuffle also reportedly erupted at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial (MGM) College in the district of Udupi on Tuesday after some male students donning saffron scarves and headgear protested against the wearing of hijab on the campus.

Visuals from the college showed a large number of saffron-clad boys gathering at the institution’s gates where a group of girls had assembled to support Muslim girls’ right to wear hijab.

The row intensified on Monday when some students reportedly sought to defy the government order mandating uniform clothing at the institutions.

At a college in Kundapura in Udupi district of the state, the principal spoke to girl students wearing hijab and told them about the government order.

However, the students insisted on wearing the hijab and were told to sit in a separate room arranged for them.

Karnataka education minister B C Nagesh said those students who insist on wearing the hijab will not be allowed into the government educational institutions. He then asked some students protesting on the street outside the college to sit in a separate room but they were not imparted lessons.

“Protesting on the road is a nuisance. So they were asked to sit in a room but under no circumstances they were allowed to sit in the classrooms (with hijab) or separate classes were held for them,” Nagesh said.

“Indian culture has given women a respectable position. Hence, a separate room for them... The innocent children aren’t aware how to reach schools,” he said.

According to the minister, the separate sitting arrangement is only for a day as everyone is waiting for the hearing in the high court over the row.

Meanwhile, a group of students came to the institution wearing saffron shawls and said they will wear them if the hijab-wearing girls were allowed in the class.

They agreed to enter the classes by removing their shawls only after the principal assured them that no hijab-wearing student will be allowed. Two persons were also arrested on the charge of brandishing knives during the hijab-saffron shawl protest by students, police said.

Meanwhile, some students sporting blue scarves entered a college in Chikmagaluru in Karnataka and raised the slogan ‘Jai Bhim’ in front of those wearing saffron scarves. They supported the hijab-wearing girls.

In Belagavi and Mandya, girls raised slogans demanding justice during a protest rally demanding permission for hijab-wearing.

Bommai, who was in New Delhion Monday to meet parliamentarians from his state, told reporters, “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 peace. All should follow the state’s order (on uniform) until the court decides.”

(With PTI inputs)