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Hijab verdict today, security stepped up in Karnataka
On Monday, the government beefed up security around educational institutes in several places including Udupi. Bengaluru police issued prohibitory orders which will remain in place till March 22
The Karnataka high court is set to deliver its verdict on Tuesday on petitions challenging the ban on the hijab in educational institutions in the state
On Monday, the government stepped up security around educational institutes across the state. In an order, Bengaluru police commissioner Kamal Pant said that since protests have disturbed public peace and order, police have considered it essential to initiate proper security measures.
“.. (I) hereby prohibit any gathering, agitation or protest of any type within the area of 200 meters radius from the gate(s) of the Schools, PU Colleges, Degree Colleges or other similar Educational Institutions in Bengaluru City for an extended period of two weeks,” read the order.
Udupi Superintendent of Police, N Vishnuvardhan, said that police deployment in the district will continue as earlier. “We have local police and three companies of KSRP (Karnataka State Reserve Police) deployed for the past few weeks. The deployment around education institutions will continue,” he said. Prohibitory orders will continue, he said.
The Kalburgi district administration has also imposed section 144 from 8 pm on Monday till 16 am on March 19.
The high court bench, constituted on February 9, heard a batch of petitions filed by some girls seeking permission to wear the 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.
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 the hijab, Hindu groups mobilised groups of men wearing saffron shawls to oppose the entry of women in hijab in schools and colleges, isolated clashes broke out in Shivamogga, and the state government issued a controversial order on February 5 that said students will not be allowed to attend classes with hijab.
During the course of the hearing, the students argued that wearing the hijab is an essential religious practice under Islam and the suspension of the same, even for a few hours during school, violates fundamental rights under Articles 19 and 25 of the Constitution. The state, however, argued that the petitioners were seeking to declare the hijab as an ‘essential religious practice’, which will bind every Muslim woman to follow a particular dress code.
