From Udupi in Karnataka to Madhya Pradesh and Puducherry: Timeline of how hijab row snowballed

The controversy over the wearing of the hijab in Karnataka’s educational institutions has escalated to new highs, with incidents of stone pelting and use of force by police being reported on Tuesday . The situation prompted the state government to declare a three-day holiday for all educational institutions. The Karnataka High Court hearing the petition against hijab ban also requested the students and public to maintain peace as the issue is sub judice in the court of law. The court will continue hearing the matter at 2.30 pm on Wednesday. Please read: Udupi hijab row: A pre-planned move to stoke communal tension in Karnataka’s sensitive coastal belt? As we wait for the high court’s decision, here’s a timeline of how the protests grew and spread to different parts of the country. 8 February: A students’ outfit at Delhi University on Tuesday protested against hijab restrictions in a government pre-university college in Udupi in Karnataka. The Muslim Students’ Federation protested outside the Arts Faculty in DU North Campus. The gathering comprised 50 students, including women, who were wearing hijabs. Carrying banners like ‘We, the people of Muhammad, will fight hate’ and ‘In solidarity with the students of Karnataka’, they raised their voice against the row which has erupted in the southern state.

Muslim Students Federation (MSF) members wearing Hijab and shout slogans against the ban on headscarves on Campus in the state of Karnataka at Art Faculty DU in new Delhi on Tuesday February 08, 2022.#KarnatakaGovernment #KarnatakaHijabRow #Udupi #HijabRow #headscarves pic.twitter.com/wCttsgfuzX

— wasim sarvar (@WasimSarvar) February 8, 2022

Furthermore, ripples from the hijab row also made its way to the state of Madhya Pradesh. The state’s Education Minister Inder Singh Parmar said that since hijab is not part of the uniform it should be banned. He also said that a ‘dress code’ will be implemented in schools in Madhya Pradesh to ensure that a sense of equality prevails among students. Parmar also alleged that “systematic efforts” are being made to disturb the country’s environment on the issue of wearing ‘hijabs’ or headscarves. In Puducherry meanwhile, a spokesperson of the Directorate of Education said they have received complaints from student groups and other organisations regarding a teacher who allegedly objected to a head scarf worn by a student. “We want to know what has actually happened and further course of action would be decided after receiving a report from the school,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. The local head of the Left-backed Students Federation of India said the girl had been attending classes wearing hijab for the last three years and questioned why the objection came up now. [caption id=“attachment_10359851” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Students wear saffron scarves to protest against Muslim girl students wearing hijab to school, in Kundapura of Udupi district. PTI[/caption] 8 February: Also on Tuesday, Karnataka government announced a three day closure of all educational institutions as protests escalated in the state and there were also reports of stone pelting and police reacting with a lathi charge. At the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial College in Udupi, a large group of students wearing saffron shawls and headgear raised slogans in support of the ban and rushed towards hijab-wearing students who were staging a protest “demanding justice”. The situation was contained after the police and college authorities intervened.

#WATCH | Protests erupt at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial College in Udupi as students wearing hijab & another group of students wearing saffron stoles-headgears raise slogans on college campus.

Karnataka HC to hear a plea today against hijab ban in several junior colleges of state. pic.twitter.com/f65loUWFLP

— ANI (@ANI) February 8, 2022

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At Mandya PES College, visuals showed a young student in a hijab being chased by Jai Shri Ram slogan shouting men. Angered by the heckling, she responded with ‘Allahu Akbar’ chants.

#HijabRow #saffronshawls
When a lone girl student arrives to college in #Mandya wearing Hijab, she gets heckled by students wearing Saffron Shawls who chanted #JaiSriRam.In reply she raises hand to say #AllahuAkbar@XpressBengaluru @santwana99 @NewIndianXpress @KannadaPrabha pic.twitter.com/gRt4hEseZI

— Karthik K K (@Karthiknayaka) February 8, 2022

Karnataka High Court, which is hearing the plea against the hijab ban also requested the students community and public to maintain peace as the issue is sub-judice in the court of law. The court will continue hearing the matter at 2.30 pm on Wednesday. 7 February: Three students wearing hijabs walked into Kalavara Varadaraj government College in Koteshwara town of Karnataka’s Udupi district. Upon seeing this, other students began wearing saffron scarves as a sign of protest. The principal convinced them to not wear the scarves and they entered. The principal asked the girls to remove their hijabs too. Not willing to budge, the three girls with hijabs walked out of the college. 5 February: Two people were detained by police for flashing knives during the ongoing hijab-saffron shawl row in the Kundapur town of Udupi district in Karnataka on 5 February. On the same day, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also waded into the row and raised the matter via his social media page.

By letting students’ hijab come in the way of their education, we are robbing the future of the daughters of India.

Ma Saraswati gives knowledge to all. She doesn’t differentiate. #SaraswatiPuja

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 5, 2022

[caption id=“attachment_10359831” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Students who were barred from entering their classrooms for wearing hijab, a headscarf used by Muslim women, speak to their principal outside the college campus in Udupi. AP[/caption] 4 February: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagan (DMK) MP Senthil Kumar, representing Tamil Nadu’s Dharmapuri constituency, raised the Karnataka hijab row in Parliament. He sought to know why students wearing hijab were not allowed to attend classes. He urged the central government to take action in the matter. Also read: There’s a good case to ban hijab in schools, but Congress cheers orthodoxy 3 February: The Bhandarkars’ Arts and Science College in Kundapur was forced to shut the gates on students after the protests spread there. 2 February: Kundapur Government PU college shut its gates on students wearing hijab after Hindu students wore saffron scarves. Videos of the girl students pleading with the principal to let them attend classes went viral. On the same day, the hijab row also broke out at at Bhadravati in Karnataka’s Shivamogga district. 31 January: A Muslim girl filed a writ petition in the Karnataka High Court seeking a declaration that wearing a hijab is a fundamental right. The plea stated that the Constitution guarantees the Freedom of Conscience and the right to profess, practise and propagate religion. [caption id=“attachment_10359841” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Students of government Pre-University college in Kundapur town wearing hijab arrive at their college in Udupi district in Karnataka. AFP[/caption] 3 January: A section of college students in Karnataka’s Koppa district wore saffron scarves protesting allegedly against allowing Muslim women to wear hijab inside the classroom. The students of the government-run college in Balagadi village claimed that if hijab was allowed inside, then saffron scarves could be sported too. 1 January: This is when the issue came to light first when Muslim girl students of the state-run PU College in Karnataka’s Udupi alleged that they were denied entry into the classroom for wearing hijab. It was reported that Principal Rudra Gowda did not permit them to wear hijab in the classrooms. Gowda said the rule was being followed to ensure uniformity in classrooms. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.