Karnataka Hijab Row: Students Allowed Entry In Udupi College; To Be Seated Separately

he hijab row controversy in Karnataka's Udupi district is refusing to die. On Monday, students wearing hijab were allowed entry into the campus of the Government PU College in Kundapura but were seated in separate classrooms, ANI reported.

Bengaluru/Udupi: The hijab row controversy in Karnataka’s Udupi district is refusing to die. On Monday, students wearing hijab were allowed entry into the campus of the Government PU College in Kundapura but were seated in separate classrooms, news agency ANI reported. This came after the state government had invoked provisions of the Karnataka Education Act which made wearing school uniforms mandatory. Meanwhile, the row continued on Monday as students in different cities of the state came wearing the shawls and hijabs, but and were turned out.

Karnataka: Students wearing hijab allowed entry into the campus of Government PU College, Kundapura today but they will be seated in separate classrooms. Latest visuals from the campus. pic.twitter.com/rEE8HfVzR1

— ANI (@ANI) February 7, 2022

In Vijayapura district’s Indi town, Hindu students of the Shanteshwara PUC College and GRB College came wearing saffron shawls in protest against the Muslim students wearing hijab. Considering the sensitivity of the situation, a holiday was declared by the managements of the two colleges, IANS reported.

Vijayapura is considered a BJP stronghold and also communally sensitive. Meanwhile, students of Venkataramana College in Kundapur, Udupi district, were stopped at the playgrounds for wearing saffron shawls. The sub-inspector attached to the Kundapur police station, Sadashiva Gavaroji stopped the students from entering the college premises.

“The Principal of Venkataramana College has said that students wearing saffron shawls and hijab won’t be allowed inside the college premises,” IANS report said.

High Alert

The intelligence agencies and education department are on high alert about disturbing developments regarding the hijab row in the state. Miscreants threatened BJP leader Raheem Uchil for speaking for the ruling government in connection with the row.

Uchil, leader of BJP Minority Morcha and also President of Karnataka Byari Literature, came out in the open and condemned the move by few organizations to kick up the hijab row in the state. The miscreant had abused the lawmaker and threatened that he would be killed for speaking against the wearing of hijab.

He has lodged a complaint in this regard with the Pandeshwara Police station in Dakshina Kannada district.

Udupi Police Take Two Person in Custody

In another development, Udupi police have taken two persons into custody for flashing knives during hijab-saffron shawl protest on February 5. The police have launched a search operation for three other persons who were spotted with weapons at the site of a student protest. The arrested persons have been identified as Abdul Majeed (32) and Razab (41), residents of Gangolli. The police have identified the persons who flashed weapons at the students protest site as Khaleel, Rizwan and Iftikar.

Kundapur police have registered a case and are investigating the case. These developments have put the state agencies on high alert.

Matter in Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court will take up the hearing of petitions by Muslim students on hijab row on Tuesday. The students have sought directions for the government and education department to allow them to wear hijab and attend classes. The state government has stated that they would frame a policy on uniform once the High Court gives its orders.

Meanwhile, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the civic agency of the state capital known as Silicon Valley of India, planned to take preventive measures fearing surfacing of hijab row.

The administration has started distributing uniforms, shoes and books to students and aiming to complete the exercise as early as possible.

What is the ‘Hijab’ row?

In December last year, some girl students started coming to a government school in Udupi district wearing Hijab, against the prescribed uniform norm. In protest against the violation of dress code, a section of Hindu students also started coming to classes wearing saffron shawls.

Even before the matter could be resolved, the hijab-saffron shawl controversy spread to more pre-university colleges in the state. In Kalaburagi district headquarters town, Muslim girls led by the Congress MLA Kaneez Fathima staged a protest on Saturday demanding permission to allow female students in the schools and pre-university colleges to wear Hijab. The issue took a political turn with the political parties in the state indulging in mudslinging.

While the Congress backed the Muslim girls citing constitutional rights guaranteed, the BJP stood against wearing of ‘Hijab’ in classes with its state president saying the state government will not allow Talibanisation of the education system.

The Karnataka High Court on February 8 will hear the petitions filed by five girls studying in a Government Pre-university College in Udupi, questioning hijab restriction in college.

(With Agency inputs)