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A Karnataka government official courted a controversy after his video — questioning hijab-wearing girls on their nationality — was shared on social media platforms on Thursday.
“Everyone should follow the court orders. This is the system in this country. As Indians we have to follow these orders and act accordingly. I think you are also Indians and that you will respect it and will be ready to write your exams,” tehsildar Shivaraj T could be heard while addressing the girls at the Government Girls PU College in Devanahalli.
HT’s repeated attempts to contact the tehsildar for a response remained unanswered.
The incident comes at a time when there have been protests and reports from across Karnataka with hijab- wearing students being denied entry to their institutions by teachers and even police.
“They won’t allow me inside if I don’t remove the hijab. Starting like this was uncomfortable. I sit on last benches. I don’t have a choice, If I want to attend the class, I have to remove the hijab,” Sana Kauser, a postgraduate student from MGM College, told a news channel on Thursday.
“When I entered the class, a friend asked me why I didn’t come (to college) all these days. So I told them that I was waiting for the court, I thought the judgement was not out, so I decided I would wait for sometime. But they were postponing it and I was missing my class here. She (my friend) said that now you look good, now you look like us, I did not respond to them. After two days, I changed my place. I did not feel comfortable (sitting) with her,” she added.
A three-judge bench comprising chief justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, justice Krishna S Dixit and justice JM Khazi on Tuesday had delivered a 129-page verdict in the contentious case dismissing the pleas.
The bench constituted on February 9, had heard a batch of petitions on a day-to-day basis over the last two weeks filed by some girls seeking permission to wear hijab in educational institutions.The girls were denied entry into a Pre-University Government College for Girls in Udupi on December 28 for wearing the headscarf, which triggered the debate.
What began with two colleges in the coastal districts of Udupi and Mangaluru snowballed into a statewide row after more institutions announced a ban on hijab. Hindu groups mobilised groups of men wearing saffron shawls to oppose the entry of women in hijab in educational institutions, while isolated clashes broke out in Shivamogga, forcing the state government to issue an order on February 5 stating that students will not be allowed to attend classes wearing hijab.
On February 10, the high court issued an interim order that said students should not wear any religious attire to classes till the hearing ends. On February 23, it clarified the order and said it is applicable to all degree and PU colleges having a dress code.
The clash between students in Udupi’s Mahatma Gandhi Memorial (MGM) college on February 8 gained attention of international media as well. The issue had put a wedge between students with them taking sides and turning their respective campuses into battlefields to assert religious identities.In several cases, hijab- wearing students have not been allowed to write exams and have been denied entry to class as well.
Even though classes have resumed across Karnataka, thousands of students continue to remain away as they say that they are being forced to choose between education and freedom to practise their religion.
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