The hijab row in Karnataka added a new incident today as schools reopened till class 10 in the state.
Some students were asked to remove their Hijabs before entering the school premises. This direction was made in accordance with the interim High Court order that said educational institutions could re-open (after having been shut last week) but no religious clothing would be allowed.
The controversy that erupted in colleges in Udipi in Karnataka between college authorities, female students not being allowed to wear Hijab and students clad in saffron wear, forced the state authorities to close down educational institutions temporarily.
In a video shared by news agency ANI, a teacher of a government-run school in Mandya district is seen ordering female students to “remove that (hijab)” before entering the school premises.
The video further shows parents arguing with the teacher, wherein eventually they give up and the students remove their Hijab and enter the school premises wearing a mask to protect them from the deadly novel coronavirus and also to follow the state directed Covid Appropriate Behaviour.
"We are requesting the school administration to allow students in the classrooms. The students can take off hijab after entering the classrooms but the teachers are arguing with us," Asif, a parent, said, as quoted by ANI.
The Karnataka Hijab row has been going on for the past few days after educational institutions reopened in the state following an almost two year shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A Karnataka college in Udipi had denied entry to some students for wearing the headscarf. The decision resulted in protests from Muslim students, followed by counterprotests from Hindu students who wore saffron scarves to educational institutions.
A three-judge bench of the Karnataka high court is expected to resume hearing today 14 February, on the petitions filed by students challenging the hijab ban in colleges.
On Friday, the court announced the interim order passed on the petitions, directing the educational institutions to defer the reopening.
The Karnataka HC cited deeper examination of the fact that wearing of Hijab in the classroom is a part of the essential religious practice of Islam.
“Pending consideration of all these petitions, we restrain all the students regardless of their religion or faith from wearing saffron shawls (bhagwa) and connect matters scarfs, hijab, religious flags or the like within the classroom,” it added.
High schools in Karnataka reopened on Monday after being shut from last Wednesday. Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) has been imposed in sensitive areas in the districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada, and Bengaluru.
