We hear from Palluruthy about incidents that have tarnished the tradition and prestige of progressive Kerala. An eighth-grade girl who suffered mental anguish due to the intransigence of the St. Rita's Public School authorities and the poisonous propaganda of those who were waiting for a chance to stir communal trouble has had to leave school. Wearing a headscarf that covers the hair is what turned out to be a crime that the school couldn’t tolerate. In the first few days after taking admission in the school, the authorities told her that she should not wear a headscarf. Convinced that it cannot be avoided according to religious customs, she takes off her headscarf when she enters the school. Since religious clothing is prohibited, she continues to attend class without it. The authorities say that the piece of cloth on her head has no place in the school uniform. Even though her parents went to school and requested it, they do not relent. When she did not take off her headscarf on Arts Day, which is a day when uniforms are not mandatory, the authorities ordered her to take off her headscarf and leave; so, she left the premises. The incident escalates into a conflict - people, including the MP, intervene and convince the girl's father that it is better to yield to the school authorities to avoid trouble. Hate propaganda against the student, her parents and the Muslim community started intensifying on social media. Considering the mental turmoil of her daughter and realising that the hate campaigners are instigating the incident into communal rivalry, the child's father, P.M. Anas, was forced to remove her and her younger brother from the school.
The school authorities' stubbornness get the upper hand. By denying education to the children, they are declaring victory over a piece of cloth. The school authorities argue that wearing a headscarf is not allowed according to the school uniform and that children are admitted only after signing an agreement to follow the rules. At the same time, the school rules do not say that wearing a headscarf is not allowed. The student, who was wearing a uniform and a headscarf of the same colour as the rules, was simultaneously obeying her religious beliefs and school rules. The school, which talks about the constitutional rights of minority institutions, should not have acted in a way that violated the constitutional rights of another minority group. To recall a history, there is a section in this very Kerala that has declared that the national anthem will not be sung in school: they belong to the Christian community and were expelled from the school. When they finally approached the Supreme Court, the court underlined the constitutional dictate of pluralism by ruling that they do not have to sing the national anthem if it goes against their religious beliefs. The pledge that students take in our schools, “India is my country…”, states that we take pride in India's “rich and varied heritage.”
Isn’t the message being delivered to children by those who make it a crime to even wear a piece of cloth in the same colour as the uniform on their head, contrary to that pledge? The state’s education minister and others have expressed their solidarity with the student who was the victim of mental harassment. In a joint statement, cultural activists have demanded that fundamental rights and the cultural freedom of religious minorities be protected and that the beliefs and practices of other religions be respected. But what the stance of those concerned tells isthat the issue is not limited to just uniforms or school rules. What kind of education are such schools providing to our children? School authorities say that other children are scared when they see a child wearing a headscarf. The reason is not that the scarf, which is commonly seen in public places, causes fear in children; it is that some people want to create fear around it. Those who talk about this fear are also the ones who themselves wear scarves. Isn't it a racist argument that children, who weren't scared by seeing that, are scared by seeing the student's scarf? Shouldn't we understand that it is not the scarf that scares these people, but the head that wears it and the section that goes with it? This school has taught the students and this society itself a lesson in heartlessness and narrow-mindedness. Education should instil in us not rejection and alienation, but inclusion and broad-mindedness. Let us pray that the children do not learn the evil lesson of the headscarf-clad who chased away another headscarf-clad through mental torture.