Karnataka Hijab Row: 28 students sent back from two colleges for wearing hijab in Mangaluru

Mangaluru: As many as 28 students in two colleges in the city were sent back home on Wednesday for wearing hijab to classes. Mangaluru police commissioner N Shashi Kumar told the media that in four other colleges, students who came to classes wearing hijabs were allowed inside classrooms after removing their scarves.

Classes went on smoothly in all the colleges, which reopened today after a week-long holiday declared by the government following trouble in some campuses over the hijab issue.

The commissioner said the hijab issue came up in six colleges on the day. The authorities at Pompei PU college sent back 26 hijab-clad students after telling them about the High Court order, while at the Dayanand Pai degree college, two students who wore hijab were sent home.

In four other colleges, hijab-clad students were allowed inside classes after removing their headscarves, Shashi Kumar said, adding, there was no case of any student wearing saffron shawls on campuses.

Meanwhile, the social democratic party of India (SDPI) charged the BJP with 'sponsoring' and 'promoting' the hijab-saffron shawl issue in educational institutions in Karnataka. Addressing media, SDPI state general secretary B R Bhaskar Prasad alleged that the entire issue is a 'criminal act' sponsored by the BJP government in the state.

Noting that the constitution never barred Muslim women wearing hijab, he alleged that the issue was created by a college principal which was later taken up by the Sangh Parivar outfits.

He sought to know why the hijab should be banned as a religious symbol when Hindu symbols like thread and 'nama' are allowed. He also accused Congress of adopting 'double standards' on the issue.

SDPI state president Abdul Majeed, who was also present, said the High Court interim order is applicable only to colleges where development committees have prescribed a dress code. The district administrations and the education department are creating confusion over the order, he charged.

He said KPCC president D K Shivakumar should clarify the stand of Congress on the issue. The party does not want to address the problems of Muslims though they want minority votes, Majeed said.

In another press meet, the National Women's Front, the women's wing of Popular Front of India (PFI) alleged that Muslim girls are being subjected to mental harassment over the hijab issue.

NWF Dakshina Kannada district president Zulaikha Bajpe condemned the attitude of some school administrations and teachers who are 'torturing' girl students under the pretext of implementing the High Court order.

She said while the order is limited to pre-university colleges, the authorities are forcing students and teachers of other colleges also to remove their headscarves in public places. Such acts amount to the denial of the fundamental rights of Muslim students, she claimed.