2022 Karnataka hijab row: Difference between revisions

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At the beginning of January 2022, a dispute erupted in the Indian state of [[Karnataka]], when Muslim students wearing [[hijab]] in a junior college were denied entry to classes.<ref name="Telegraph Udupi"/>
At the beginning of January 2022, a dispute erupted in the Indian state of [[Karnataka]], when Muslim students wearing [[hijab]] in a junior college were denied entry to classes.<ref name="Telegraph Udupi"/>
Over the following weeks, it spread to several other schools and colleges across the state. On 5 February 2022, the Karnataka government issued an order clarifying that uniforms must be worn compulsorily where policies exist and no exception can be made for the wearing of hijab. Several schools cited this order and denied entry to Muslim girls wearing the hijab.<ref name="Chowdhuri reuters"/><ref name="Karnataka Govt Issues Fresh Order" /> Following this, petitions with regard to this issue were filed in the [[Karnataka High Court]].   
Over the following weeks, it spread to several other schools and colleges across the state. On 5 February 2022, the Karnataka government issued an order clarifying that uniforms must be worn compulsorily where policies exist and no exception can be made for the wearing of hijab. Several schools cited this order and denied entry to Muslim girls wearing the hijab.<ref name="Chowdhuri reuters"/><ref name="Karnataka Govt Issues Fresh Order" /> Following this, petitions with regard to this issue were filed in the [[Karnataka High Court]].   
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{{Cite web |url=https://www.siasat.com/hijab-issue-has-become-jihad-says-vishwa-hindu-parishad-leader-2272452/ |title = 'Hijab issue has become jihad', says Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader |date = 9 February 2022}}
{{Cite web |url=https://www.siasat.com/hijab-issue-has-become-jihad-says-vishwa-hindu-parishad-leader-2272452/ |title = 'Hijab issue has become jihad', says Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader |date = 9 February 2022}}
</ref>
</ref>
==See also==
*[[Hijab by country]]
*[[Burqa by country]]


==Notes==
==Notes==

Revision as of 11:20, 12 February 2022


At the beginning of January 2022, a dispute erupted in the Indian state of Karnataka, when Muslim students wearing hijab in a junior college were denied entry to classes.[1] Over the following weeks, it spread to several other schools and colleges across the state. On 5 February 2022, the Karnataka government issued an order clarifying that uniforms must be worn compulsorily where policies exist and no exception can be made for the wearing of hijab. Several schools cited this order and denied entry to Muslim girls wearing the hijab.[2][3] Following this, petitions with regard to this issue were filed in the Karnataka High Court. On 8 February 2022, the Government of Karnataka announced the closure of high schools and colleges for three days after the protests and disputes over the wearing of hijab intensified.

Incidents

Udupi

In early January 2022, a dispute over the wearing of hijab in a government-run pre-University college at Udupi came to light. The college, known to have disallowed the wearing of hijab in the past, was confronted with 6 Muslim female students who insisted on wearing hijab to classes. The college disallowed it.[4] The students were allowed on campus, but not into classes. Students were found sitting in corridors and working with their notebooks.[5]

The case was brought to the attention of the media by Ansar Ahmed, the district president of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, a voluntary organisation.[1] The student wing of Popular Front of India (PFI),[lower-alpha 1] called Campus Front of India, threatened a protest, prompting the college to arrange a police presence.[1] The political wing of PFI, called Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), is also said to have threatened with protests.[8] The college authorities met and talked with the parents, but remained firm in their resolution not to allow religious attire.[9][10]

By February, the row over hijab has spilled over to other institutions in the Udupi district. At a college in Kundapura, 28 students wearing hijab were barred from entering the college premises.[11] The students were very anxious because their public exams were just two months away. The Telegraph commented that their "tearful pleas fell on deaf ears".[12]

Chikmagalur

Soon after the Udupi episode became public, a dispute arose at a government first grade college in Koppa in the Chikmagalur district, which is a co-educational institution. There the Hindu students started wearing saffron scarves[lower-alpha 2] to the college in an effort to protest the Muslim students being allowed with head scarves.[14] The matter was resolved a few days later at a parent–teacher meeting where it was decided to allow the Muslim girls with hijab. The parents of the Hindu students did not support their wards donning saffron scarves.[5]

Other locations

The dispute then began to spread to other institutions across Karnataka, between Muslim students wanting to wear hijab and the administrations barring them. The controversy intensified in early February 2022.[15]

Between 4th and 7th February, there were counter-protests by students who were against allowing students wearing the hijab to enter the college. These students marched to the college wearing saffron shawls. However, authorities stopped them from entering the premises and asked the students to remove the shawls. The students were allowed in only after they complied with the request.[16][17][18][19][20][excessive citations]

Government reactions

On 5 February 2022, the Bharatiya Janata Party led Karnataka government issued an order clarifying that uniforms were mandatory, while also stating that in the absence of a dress code, students can wear "the dress which will not affect equality, integrity and law & order". The order mentioned that the uniform were to be decided by the state government in government schools, and by the school management in private schools. Several schools cited this order and denied entry to Muslim girls wearing the burqa.[2][3][21]

On 8 February 2022, the Government of Karnataka announced the closure of high schools and colleges for three days, after the controversy over the wearing of hijab by Muslim students intensified.[22][23] The Bangalore Police prohibited protests and agitations from 9 February until 22 February within the vicinity of any educational institution.[24]Two Muslim men were arrested when they were found carrying lethal weapons during a protest. Three others managed to flee.[25]

Court case

Several students from the 'Government Pre University College for Girls, Udupi, petitioned the Karnataka High Court against the ban, stating that wearing the burqa was their religious right.[26][27][2]

Reactions

  • Apoorvanand, a professor of Hindi at the University of Delhi, called the controversy a part of a larger project in which “Muslim identity markers are being declared as sectarian and undesirable in public spaces". He said "It is telling Muslims and non-Hindus that the state will dictate their appearance and their practices,".[28]
  • Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition Indian National Congress party criticized the government and said "By letting students' hijab come in the way of their education, we are robbing the future of the daughters of India. Prohibiting hijab-wearing students from entering school is a violation of fundamental rights."[28]
  • Aaditya Thackeray, state minister of Maharashtra, told journalists that if there was a uniform at schools, there should not be a place for any other dress other than that, saying, " Schools and colleges are the Centres of education, only education should be imparted there".[29]
  • Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM), the Muslim wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-
    • In a statement, Anil Singh, the Prant Sanchalak (Awadh) of the MRM backed the burqa-clad student who was heckled by youth shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans at a Karnataka college, saying ‘purdah’ is part of Indian culture.[30]
    • The MRM distanced itself from Singh's statement and said that it does not support such "fanaticism and religious frenzy" and supported the enforcement of dress code in educational institutions in Karnataka.[31]
  • Vishva Hindu Parishad - Leader termed the hijab row “a conspiracy to propagate jihadi terrorism” and said that Muslim students were attempting “hijab jihad” in college campuses.[28][32]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Often described as an extremist Islamic organisation.[6][7]
  2. ↑ Saffron is a holy colour in Hinduism, but there is no religious requirement to wear it in scarves. More significantly, the saffron colour is promoted by the Hindu nationalist organisations such as the Vishva Hindu Parishad as an emblem of their ideology.[13]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 K. M. Rakesh, Hijab-clad students denied entry to classroom in Udupi PU college, The Telegraph (India), 2 Jan 2022.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Chowdhuri, Rupak De (9 February 2022). "Indian students block roads as row over hijab in schools mounts". Reuters. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 ABP News Bureau (5 February 2022). "Karnataka Govt Issues Fresh Order Amid Hijab Row, Says Uniform That Affects Harmony Must Be Banned". ABP Live. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  4. ↑ K. M. Rakesh, Hijab-clad students denied entry to classroom in Udupi PU college, The Telegraph (India), 2 Jan 2022. Quote: 'On Friday, Gowda [the principal of the college] had told reporters: "Only six of some 60 Muslim girls (students) are insisting on wearing the hijab. But the college doesn’t have a rule permitting that kind of religious dress."'
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 K. M. Rakesh, Bar on hijab keeps eight Muslim students out of classroom in Udupi, The Telegraph (India), 19 January 2022. ProQuest 2620888304
  6. ↑ "HuJi, Popular Front of India under lens for hate messages". The Times of India. 22 August 2012.
  7. ↑ "In a pluralistic part of India, fears of rising Islamic extremism". The Washington Post. 5 February 2011.
  8. ↑ PTI, Karnataka: Hijab-clad students denied entry to classroom in Udupi PU college, Indian Express, 1 January 2022.
  9. ↑ "College refutes charge by students", The Hindu, 1 January 2022. ProQuest 2615545813
  10. ↑ College in Udupi decides to continue with dress code, The Hindu, 2 January 2022.
  11. ↑ Karnataka hijab row: Management pushed students, refused to give answers, says student, India Today, 4 February 2022.
  12. ↑ K. M. Rakesh, More colleges in Karnataka stop Muslim girls from wearing hijab, The Telegraph (India), 5 February 2022.ProQuest 2625383593
  13. ↑ Hansen, Thomas Blom (1999), The Saffron Wave: Democracy and Hindu Nationalism in Modern India, Princeton University Press, p. 108, ISBN 1-4008-2305-6: "Today, the saffron flag and the saffron color—though used widely in religious rituals and processions— has in the political field been appropriated by the Hindu nationalist movement. During riots, the saffron flag is often employed to mark Hindu areas, and it is planted upon Muslim dargahs (tombs) and masjids (mosques) to mark Hindu superiority."
  14. ↑ Nagarjun Dwarkanath, Karnataka college students wear saffron scarves protesting against hijab in classrooms, India Today, 5 January 2022. "The students of the government-run college in Balagadi village claimed that if hijab was allowed inside, then saffron scarves could be sported too. The same students had earlier asked women not to attend classes wearing hijab."
  15. ↑ "Hijab Row Live: Protests Intensify, Spread To Other States, Karnataka High Court Hearing Today". NDTV.com.
  16. ↑ "Kundapur college students march wearing saffron shawls". The Hindu. 6 February 2022.
  17. ↑ "Principal asks boys to remove saffron shawl before attending classes". The Hindu. 4 February 2022.
  18. ↑ "Hijab row: Students in saffron shawls take out processions". 5 February 2022.
  19. ↑ "Hijab-saffron shawl controversy: Two arrested for carrying 'lethal weapons' as row continues in Karnataka colleges". 7 February 2022.
  20. ↑ "Hijab-saffron shawl controversy continues in Karnataka colleges".
  21. ↑ "Hijab row: Karnataka govt says uniforms mandatory for schools and PU …". archive.ph. 10 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  22. ↑ "Hijab protests spread, Karnataka govt shuts colleges, high schools for three days". 9 February 2022.
  23. ↑ media, news and. "Hijab Row: Karnataka schools for classes 9, 10 to resume on Monday". www.en.etemaaddaily.com. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  24. ↑ "Police ban protests and gatherings near educational institutions in Bengaluru". The Hindu. 9 February 2022. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 9 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  25. ↑ "Hijab-saffron shawl controversy: Two arrested for carrying 'lethal weapons' as row continues in Karnataka colleges". 7 February 2022.
  26. ↑ Mogul, Rhea; Suri, Manveena; Gupta, Swati (10 February 2022). "Hijab protests spread as girls refuse to be told what not to wear". CNN. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  27. ↑ "Hijab row: Maintain peace, says Karnataka high court as tempers flare". Hindustan Times. 9 February 2022.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 "Violent clashes over hijab ban in southern India force schools to close". the Guardian. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  29. ↑ "Prescribed school uniforms should be followed: Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray on hijab row". New Indian Express. 9 February 2022.
  30. ↑ "Asaduddin Owaisi dials Mandya girl heckled for wearing hijab, praises…". archive.vn. 10 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  31. ↑ PTI (Press Trust of India) (10 February 2022). "Hijab Row: RSS' Muslim wing distances itself from UP functionary supporting burqa-clad girl". The Print. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  32. ↑ "'Hijab issue has become jihad', says Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader". 9 February 2022.
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