Hijab: Hindu students protest again wearing saffron shawls in K'ntka

Hassan/Karnataka: In Karnataka, the Hijab issue surfaced once again after a group of Hindu students protested, wearing saffron shawls and Muslim classmates wearing headwear, The Siasat Daily reported.

Reports suggested that the incident happened on March 6 at Vidhya Soudha College in Hassan district of the state.

A video, which went viral on social media platforms, showed a Hijab worn girl going to college on a bus and entering, sitting and leaving a class. Next, the video showed a group of boys wearing saffron shawls.

However, the principal of the institution reacted to the video that the girl had an ear infection and, therefore, was covering her head. It wasn’t hijab, but some cloth resembled it, he said. The principal said that he had a meeting with the student as well as her parents, and they agreed that they would not repeat it.

Further, Hassan’s education block officer informed that the incident was being investigated.

The previous BJP government in the state had banned the wearing of hijab inside educational institutions. This has resulted in many Muslim girl students in the state dropping out of schools and colleges. Now, the Muslim community is expecting the incumbent Congress government to quash the BJP regime’s rule.

December last year, the Chief Minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah, said that the government ‘intends’ to withdraw the ban on the headwear. Addressing people in Mysore, he said that the government would withdraw the ban and women could wear the same. He claimed that he ordered officials to withdraw it, he said adding that the choice of dress and food is personal.

“Why should I obstruct? Wear what you want. Eat what you want. I wear a dhoti, you wear a pants and shirt. What’s wrong with that? One mustn’t do politics for votes,” Siasat Daily quoted the CM.

But the following day the CM retraced his statement and no officials orders were passed. He explained that his government is thinking about retracting the ban and they haven’t done it yet. He said a decision would be taken after discussions at the government levels.