The Karnataka government may reconsider allowing a few Muslim students to appear for practical and pre-final exams as they were barred from classes after the government imposed a statewide ban on hijab for students within educational institutions.
Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Raghupati Bhatt sent in a request seeking one more chance for the students to appear for exams. Replying to the same, law and parliamentary affairs minister JC Madhuswamy stated that the government would consider the matter.
“We will take a call on the issue after consulting the chief minister but the government will not allow those who continued to protest over the hijab ban even after the interim order, to appear for the exams,” Mudhuswamy wrote in his reply.
Bhatt stated that a number of students were ready to appear for the exams without wearing the hijab. He also sought action against those who were protesting following the high court’s interim order.
Former chief minister Jagadish Shetty also expressed dismay over the defiance of the high court order.
“If anybody feels that the HC verdict is incorrect, let them appeal against it. They have the right to do so. But criticising the verdict in the open and giving bandh calls is not correct,” Shetty was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
The hijab row:
The hijab controversy erupted and has been raging since January, after students of a pre-university college in Karnataka’s Udupi were prohibited from wearing headscarves (hijab), as part of their religious obligation, in the college premises. The issue blew up after Hindu students turned up to their colleges wearing saffron scarves in a protest against hijab Muslims being allowed to wear headscarves.
The state was forced to form a committee to decide over the issue and prohibited the students from wearing any religious garment, including the hijab until a decision is reached.
However, a number of protests by saffron-clad students and Muslims around the state forced the state to shut down schools and colleges for a few days.
Educational institutions that were shut down by the state were directed to reopen, ensuring that the state’s diktat, which prevents any religious garment from being worn to the institutions, is strictly adhered to.
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