Hijab not part of uniform, should be banned in MP: school education minister

The Madhya Pradesh school education minister’s statement comes at a time the hijab controversy continues to grip Karnataka’s Udupi district.

BHOPAL: Hijab is not a part of uniform and it should be banned in Madhya Pradesh schools, said state school education minister Inder Singh Parmar on Tuesday while reacting to the hijab controversy in Karnataka.

‘Madhya Pradesh government will apply strict dress code for a sense of equality and discipline among students in schools,’ state school education minister Inder Singh Parmar said. (PTI Photo)

“MP state government will apply strict dress code for a sense of equality and discipline among students in schools. From the next session, we will issue rules and regulations related to the uniform dress codes. Hijab is not part of the uniform and it should be banned in MP. We will definitely ban it in MP after inspecting it,” the minister said.

His statement has come at a time the hijab controversy continues to grip Karnataka’s Udupi district, with several schools reporting protests by girls wearing hijabs and students wearing saffron scarfs. The incident was triggered when six girls of a government school in Udupi were denied entry for wearing hijab. Once the girls refused to remove their hijab, students from the majority community started demanding they too be allowed inside with saffron shawls. And the issue grew.

“Efforts are being made in the country to disturb the present education system. In India, people follow different traditions at home but in schools, students should follow the (uniform) dress code. Some people are deliberately trying to spoil the atmosphere of the country,” Parmar said.

However, Congress MLA from Bhopal Arif Masood said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ministers shouldn’t mix politics with education. “BJP leaders are bringing politics in every issue. If they take any decision of putting a ban on wearing hijab, we will stage protest against it and will not allow that draconian order,” he said.

Meanwhile, a hearing is underway in the Karnataka high court on Tuesday on a clutch of petitions against schools not allowing girls wearing headscarves to attend classes.