MP: Muslim student forced to write apology for wearing burqa, hijab in college
The college’s principal in-charge said the student came to the campus by wearing burqa and hijab for the first time to unnecessarily create a controversy.
BHOPAL/SATNA: A burqa-clad master of commerce (MCom) student was allegedly forced to write an apology letter for wearing burqa and hijab in an autonomous government college in Satna after a group of students raised objection, claimed a college authority.
The student has been identified as Rukhsana Khan. Meanwhile, the principal in-charge SP Singh said Rukhsana came to college by wearing burqa and hijab for the first time to unnecessarily create a controversy.
“In the admit card, we have clearly instructed students to take exams only after wearing college uniform and mask. This is not the first time such a decision has been taken. Rukhsana used to come in the college uniform but on Friday, she came in burqa. Some fellow students created ruckus and demanded action against the student. However, we controlled the situation and asked the student to write an apology letter for indiscipline,” said the principal in-charge.
The matter came to light on Friday evening when the video of the incident went viral on social media.
A student, who was staging protest against the Muslim girl, Ajay Dwivedi said Ruksana wanted to take advantage of the situation amid the ongoing hijab controversy.
A row over hijab erupted in the educational institutions in Karnataka’s Udupi, following which the Karnataka high court issued an order, restraining students from wearing hijab or any other religious attire to schools and colleges that have prescribed uniforms until it finally decides the legality of the prohibition imposed by the state government.
“We asked college authorities to take action. Otherwise, we will start coming to the college by wearing a saffron scarf,” Dwivedi said.
Despite repeated attempts, Rukhsana couldn’t be contacted for her comment.
Meanwhile, the congress demanded action against the college principal. “The principal shouldn’t have allowed other students to decide what to wear or not. The home minister, who clarified that there is no controversy on hijab, should take action against the principal,” said Ajay Yadav, a spokesperson of the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee.
Higher education minister Mohan Yadav said he was not aware of it and will look into it.
Earlier this week, reacting to the Karnataka Hijab row, school education minister Inder Singh Parmar called a ban on wearing hijab. However, home minister Narottam Mishra said there was no controversy over hijab and the state government is not planning anything on hijab.