Jaipur: After banning the wearing of hijab in Karnataka government schools and colleges, the Bharatiya Janata Party-run state government in Rajasthan is preparing to bring in a similar ruling for government educational institutions acrosss the state.
In Rajasthan, Minister Madan Dilawar has reportedly sought a report from the department over the status of the hijab ban in other states and its effect on Rajasthan. Agriculture minister Dr Kirodi Lal Meena has also said that hijab should be banned in government and private schools and madrasas.
Meena said, “I will talk to the Chief Minister on this. When the Mughal invaders came here, they started this tradition in our country. The DNA of Indian Muslims is also ours. The burqa and hijab are not acceptable in any way in our country. When hijab and burqa are not acceptable in Muslim countries, then why should we adopt them? Our MLA has raised this issue. There is dress code in police and schools also. Like this, some police officer will sit in the police station tomorrow wearing kurta and pyjama. There is a rule for everything.”
After getting the green signal from higher-ups, a final decision on banning the hijab will be taken in the schools of Rajasthan.
The controversy began when six Muslim female students were denied entry into their classrooms in Karnataka’s Udupi in December 2021.
A study by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties—Karnataka, a human rights body, titled Closing the Gates of Education: Violations of the Rights of Muslim Women Students in Karnataka, stated that the hijab ban resulted in the dropout of more than 800 girls from schools in Karnataka. Atleast 400 girl students were barred from entering the college or suspended over the ban in the state.
Controversy over hijab in Rajasthan
Controversy over the hijab in Rajasthan began after BJP MLA Bal Mukund Acharya during a Republic Day event at a school reportedly questioned the management over the dress code after he noticed a few girls donning the hijab.
Muslim girl students of the government senior secondary school in Jaipur protested on Monday, January 29, outside the Subhash Chowk police station demanding action against BJP MLA Balmukund Acharya for objecting to the girls wearing hijab during a school event.
Several school girls jammed the road outside the Subhash Chowk police station and raised slogans against the MLA from the Hawa Mahal constituency. They demanded an apology as well as filed a complaint against him.
Hijab ban in Karnataka
Controversy over the wearing of hijab in government schools and colleges, first started in Karnataka, under the regime of the Bassavaraj Bommai-led BJP government in the state. On December 31, 2021, a controversy sparked at a college in the Udupi District of Karnataka over the ban on hijab.
When this controversy escalated, in February 2022, the then Karnataka Government banned all types of clothes and items with religious identity in schools and colleges.
The order argued that any clothing or item that would disturb equality, integrity and public law and order would not be allowed to be worn in schools.
The Karnataka High Court upheld the decision to ban hijab in schools and colleges and said that the dress code in schools and colleges was correct.
The Karnataka High Court’s decision was challenged before the Supreme Court, which gave the split verdict and referred it to a larger bench which is yet to be constituted.
Despite the matter being referred to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dr D.Y. Chandrachud several times throughout last year, it still awaits listing.
