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Now, MP home minister says no proposal to ban hijab in schools
Mishra’s statement came a day after Madhya Pradesh’s school education minister Inder Singh Parmar said hijab should be banned from schools in the state, adding it is not part of the (uniform) dress code.
There is no proposal under consideration to ban hijab worn by Muslim girls from schools, Madhya Pradesh home minister Narottam Mishra said on Wednesday, playing down controversy around the issue that has rocked Karnataka.
“There is no controversy in MadhyaPradesh regarding hijab. There is no proposal under consideration with the government regarding hijab, so there should be no confusion. In Karnataka also, this entire matter is pending in the high court,” said Mishra.
Mishra’s statement came a day after Madhya Pradesh’s school education minister Inder Singh Parmar said hijab should be banned from schools in the state, adding it is not part of the (uniform) dress code.
“MP state government will apply a 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,” Parmar said on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Parmar, however, said he was only talking about implementing strict uniform dress code and nothing else.
“My statement was misrepresented by some people,” he added.
Parmar’s statement on Tuesday came under severe criticism from several opposition leaders and civil society members, who accused him of “politicising” the matter.
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The hijab row turned violent in the southern state of Karnataka on Tuesday, with reports of student groups with opposing views on the matter clashing with each other at several educational institutions making headlines.
The controversy began in January at a government high school in Udupi district of Karnataka, where six students wearing hijab were allegedly stopped from attending classes. The issue has since spread to other parts of the southern state, with some student sporting saffron shawls and turbans, while others wearing blue scarves around their necks.
The row has taken a political dimension, as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state came out strongly in support of uniform dress codes being enforced by educational institutions, calling the headscarf a religious symbol, while the opposition Congress has supported the Muslim girls.
