While students wearing saffron scarves protested against hijab, those wearing blue ones were Dalit students who backed the hijab in a show of solidarity with the aggrieved Muslim girls.
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – As the hijab controversy refuses to die down in Karnataka two colleges declared a holiday on Monday purportedly to avoid communal clashes. Another college though allowed hijab-wearing students to enter the college, made them to sit in separate classrooms.
There was a confrontation between students wearing blue scarves and those wearing saffron scarves at a college in Chikkamagaluru, IDSG College. While students wearing saffron scarves protested against hijab, those wearing blue ones were Dalit students who backed the hijab in a show of solidarity with the aggrieved Muslim girls.
After days of protests by hijab-wearing students outside the gates, the Government Junior PU College in Kundapur in Udupi district allowed the young women on campus this morning but controversially seated them in separate classrooms without any lessons.
#blueshawls vs #saffronshawls
Confrontation between #Dalit students who came in support of #hijab vs #ABVP students who oppose it happened at IDSG college, #Chikkamagaluru #Karnataka. College management had to intervene to diffuse the tense situation. pic.twitter.com/v6fe0tb7gm— Imran Khan (@KeypadGuerilla) February 7, 2022
College officials made it clear that the step was taken just to “avoid crowding outside the gates”.
Principal of the college, Ramakrishna GJ, re-emphasised that students could attend classes only after removing the hijab. But the women remained firm on their decision not to remove the hijab in the class, come what may!
Separate classroom for hijab-clad Muslim girls was a cause of concern for activists. They called it a case of “apartheid”. “This is even more enraging,” said Afreen Fatima, a student activist associated with fraternity movement. “The College is not allowing entry; they are segregating and humiliating the Muslim students further.”
At the Kalavara Varadaraj M Shetty Government First Grade College, Kundapur, students in hijab were sent back home.
Usha Devi, vice-principal of the college, confirmed that they did send the students back with an advice to enter classes without the hijab. “They refused to abide by our instructions,” they said, “hence, we had no option but to ask them to leave. We have requested them to wait for the High Court order tomorrow.”
Some students have been coming to the college with the hijab on for long, much before resistance to the piece of cloth worn by the girls began. When questioned about the timing of the controversy, she conceded that “there were a few students who used to attend classes in hijab. We did not have a problem then.”
However, the vice-principal denied any pressure on the college. The college, she said only wanted to “avoid any issues”.
Many students entered two other colleges in Vijayapura district of Karnataka, Shantheshwara PU and GRB College, putting on saffron scarves in a show of protest against their hijab-wearing fellow students.
Stepping in, the principal told the students that the Karnataka High Court would hear the case tomorrow and declared a holiday today.
The High Court will hear petitions filed by five women from a government pre-university college in , questioning hijab restrictions.
The protests began last month at the Government Girls PU college in Udupi district when six students alleged that they had been barred from classes for insisting on wearing the headscarf.
The protests spread to more colleges in Udupi and beyond, with staff banning the hijab and many students taking a confrontational position by showing up in saffron scarves and shouting slogans.
On Saturday, the state’s BJP government banned clothes which it said “disturb equality, integrity and public order”.
“In the event of the administrative committee not selecting a uniform, clothes which disturb equality, integrity and public law and order should not be worn,” the order said.
“The education department has noticed that in some education institutions, the boys and girls have started behaving according to their religion, which hurts the equality and unity,” it added.
The row has taken a political turn with the state’s opposition Congress party accusing the BJP and its ideological mentor RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) of trying to stir communal strife in the state.
“The constitution has given the right to practice any religion which means one can wear any clothes according to their religion. “Prohibiting hijab-wearing student from entering school,” former chief minister Siddaramaiah said, “is a violation of fundamental rights,”.
BJP’s state president Nalin Kumar Kateel said the government would not allow hijab at educational institutions.
“There is a BJP government in this state. There is no room for hijab or any other related incidents. Schools are temples of mother Saraswathi (goddess of education); everyone should abide by rules and regulations there. Bringing religion there is not right, what students need is education, if someone can’t follow rules they can choose their path elsewhere,” he said last week.
