Hijab: Row resurfaces suspending 6 students

Mangaluru: In Karnataka, the hijab issue has once again surfaced after six students who wore the headscarf got suspended in the coastal district of Dakshina Kannada. They were suspended despite repeated warnings, PTI reported.

It was the Government First Grade College at Uppinangady which suspended the students for a week following a meeting by the principal and other faculties.

The students were informed repeatedly by the college authorities that they were violating High Court's orders, but they allegedly kept wearing it.

However, on Thursday, more students came to college wearing hijab, while another section of students wore saffron, staging a similar atmosphere from where the hijab controversy erupted. The saffron-clad students' group demanded hijab worn students not be allowed inside classes.

Sources said that police had to intervene, and authorities had to stop both hijab and saffron-clad students from entering classes.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, some journalists who were there to cover the events were allegedly illegally confined, their cameras snatched, and footage deleted by miscreants. After that, the local Journalists' association made a submission before the district Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police demanding action against the miscreants.

Further, the Mangaluru University College hijab issue that surfaced last week continues. Nearly 15 students came to the college donning the headscarf, and all of them were stopped from entering the campus. Principal authorities asked them to enter the classes by removing their hijab, but the students refused.

Last week, some students staged a protest at the Mangaluru's University College campus, alleging that a few Muslim students are attending classes wearing the headwear.

The Karnataka High Court, on March 15, had dismissed petitions filed by a group of Muslim students seeking permission to wear hijab inside classrooms.

The three-judge bench of the court, consisting of Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice J M Khazi, further noted that the prescription of school uniform is only a reasonable restriction constitutionally permissible, which the students cannot object to.

Following the High Court order, the Department of Pre-University Education has made uniforms prescribed by the College Development Committee compulsory for Pre-University (PU) students from the 2022-23 academic year.

It also states that in case no uniform is prescribed by the College Development Committee or management, students must wear a garment which will "maintain equality and unity, and which does not disturb public order".