Protests by students in Karnataka over their right to wear the hijab in class have now expanded to other institutions.
According to sources, approximately 40 students protested outside the Bhandarkars Arts and Science Degree College in Kundapur, Udupi district, since the faculty refused to let them in without taking off their headscarves. In support of the females, several Muslim boys sat outside the school’s campus.
The students, who were all between the ages of 18 and 20, wanted to know why the administration had prohibited the hijab despite the fact that it was permitted under the school guidelines which states, “Girl students are free to wear scarves, but the color of the scarf must match the dupatta, and no student is permitted to wear any other fabric.”
A similar incident surfaced on February 4, 2022, in another college in Kundapur. A group of hijab-wearing students were forced to stand outside the institution for six hours. Girls wearing hijab were permitted to sit in class at the Junior PU Government College, but controversy erupted two days ago when a group of boys arrived in class wearing saffron scarves. To minimize communal tension, the college administration requested that the females remove their hijab during class.
Originally, the hijab protests emerged at the Government Girls PU Girls College in the Udupi area a few weeks ago. Six students were allegedly denied entry into classes because they refused to remove their hijabs. BJP’s Yashpal Suvarna, vice president of the Udupi College Administrative Committee, stated it would only take him “five minutes to put an end to the opposition with the support of Hindu groups.” According to him, only six students out of 900 at the campus are causing mayhem with the help of Campus Front of India and PFI organisations. To address the issue, Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra stated that kids should not wear the hijab or saffron shawls to school.
