Hijab vs saffron scarves: More colleges in Karnataka deny entry to girls wearing hijab

A month after students wearing hijab were barred from entering the government college in Karnataka’s Udupi, more Muslim girls were denied entry at Kundapur’s Pre-university college on Thursday. According to news agency IANS, the principal of the PU College told the students that as per the government’s order and the college’s guidelines, they will have to come in uniform to attend classes. This has come a day after male students of Bhandarkar’s college wore saffron shawls to protest against Muslim students wearing hijab. This is the third time in the last one month that girl students wearing hijab were denied entry to colleges. Let’s take a look at what is the issue and why hijab-wearing students are not being allowed to attend classes: What happened at Udupi Girls’ College – On 1 January, 2022, the management of the government pre-university college denied entry to six Muslim students for wearing hijab, stating it was against the prescribed norms of the college. – One of the students, Resham Farooq, filed a petition in the HC saying the students’ right to wear a hijab is a fundamental right guaranteed under Article 14 and 25 of the Constitution and is an essential practice of Islam. – As per a report by India Today, a meeting was held between students, parents, government officials and the college management on 19 January. However, no conclusion was reached in the meeting. – The stalemate between the girl students and the college management has continued as they were again denied entry on 1 February, as per a report by The Quint. Hijab row spills over to more colleges – At least two more colleges of Karnataka appear to have taken the anti-hijab stance. – The administration of Sir MV Government College in Shivamogga’s Bhadravathi has told girl students to remove their hijabs in the waiting room and attend the classes without it, the Times of India reported. – The college administration made the decision a day after a group of students wearing saffron shawls protested against their Muslim classmates who wore hijab in the classrooms. – On Wednesday, more than 100 boys arrived at the Government PU College in Kundapur wearing saffron scarves to protest against Muslim students wearing hijab. A day later the college authorities shut the door and denied entries to girl students who were wearing hijab. – In January, a state-run college in Balagadi village in Karnataka’s Chikkamagaluru district decided to ban hijabs as well as saffron scarves on the campus after a meeting held with both sides. _Also read: Opinion | On ‘Hijab Day’, the only choice is to drop the cloth for ‘No Hijab Day’_ Solution? The state government has set up a committee to decide if students should be allowed into the classroom wearing hijab as part of the uniform. The government has said that until the committee’s report is submitted the students can only attend classes without hijab. 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.