Ban on hijab in schools triggers wave of protests across India
The refusal to allow Muslim girls wearing hijabs to attend schools in India's southern state of Karnataka has escalated into a national row pitting freedom of religious belief against "communalism".
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In the southern Indian state of Karnataka, protests have erupted in colleges and schools over the right of female students to wear the hijab or headscarf – the latest flashpoint in a series of religion-fuelled controversies that have gripped Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
India Today tweet on hijab row
"The entire hijab controversy is not about hijab at all," @_sayema (Radio Presenter)#NewsToday #Karnataka #Schools #Colleges | @sardesairajdeep pic.twitter.com/vKGunS1dFS
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) February 8, 2022
After six students were banned from entering a college in Karnataka’s coastal Udupi district for wearing a hijab on the 1 January, the row over whether educational institutions can impose a strict dress code that could interfere with students' rights has spread to other colleges in the state.
The row over right to hijab
As the issue snowballed into a major controversy, the government declared three days of holidays for educational institutions across the state, even as voices nationwide were raised both for and against the hijab.
In one incident, policemen were forced to fire tear gas to disperse a crowd at a government-run campus, while there was also a heavy police presence at schools in nearby towns.
A hearing into whether Muslim girls can wear hijabs in class is currently underway at the Karnataka High Court after the standoff took a violent turn earlier this week.
In one confrontation caught on camera, Muskan Khan, a second-year commerce student of Mandya college was heckled by slogan-shouting young men wearing saffron-coloured scarves, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) colours.
“Our priority is our education; for a piece of cloth they are ruining our education," said Muskan.
"I was not worried," she said. "When I entered the college, [the men] were not allowing me just because I was wearing the burqa."
MPs divided
The state of Karnataka is ruled by the BJP and the party has refused to be drawn into the specifics of the hijab controversy.
However, Karnataka’s education minister BC Nagesh reiterated the government's stand on the hijab row and said the uniform policy introduced by the government was clear.
"Just as rules are followed in the military, the same is to be done here [in educational institutions] as well. Options are open for those who are not willing to follow it, which they can make use of," Nagesh told reporters, without clarifying what he meant by other options.
The hijab row found an echo in parliament – opposition parties staged a walkout demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah.
“People have different identities linked with their religion. Hindus wear tilak (a caste mark) on their forehead. Muslim women wear hijab," said Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in parliament. "Wearing a hijab is not a crime. An atmosphere of fear has been created in the country.”
At the heart of this crisis is the clash between restrictions on religious attire in educational institutions on the grounds of maintaining public order and uniformity, and the constitutional rights of individuals to freely exercise their religious beliefs, free speech and expression.
Battle lines drawn
Given the current climate of intolerance, some observers also feel that the growing polarisation is driven by upcoming elections in five Indian states.
The ruling BJP strongly supports the uniform-related rules being enforced by educational institutions, calling the headscarf a religious symbol.
Office of Dilip Ghosh on hijab row
1.1 Protest launched at Park Circus on the Hijab controversy of Karnataka. Who are patronising communalism in Paschim Banga?
— Office of Dilip Ghosh (@DilipGhoshOff) February 11, 2022
Under whose leadership, this has been arranged is known to all!
Police administration didn't obstruct this protest. pic.twitter.com/Ymy9wjmhgy
The changed climate in India’s famously argumentative democracy has come into sharp focus in recent years especially after Modi’s rise to power in 2014.
Over the past few years in particular, there has been an increasing sense that space for liberal discussion in the country is narrowing and freedoms restricted.
This has been underlined by repeated incidents of attacks on minorities and hate speech, which have often turned violent.
Communal tensions have escalated in Karnataka, especially in the coastal region. According to Karnataka Communal Harmony Forum, the coastal districts witnessed 120 communal incidents last year, the highest in four years.
The incidents relate to allegations of religious conversion, cattle vigilantism, hate speech and desecration of places of worship.
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