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Will follow SC order on hijab at education institutes: Karnataka minister
The clarification comes after the Karnataka Higher Education minister announced that students will be allowed to wear a hijab while writing competitive exams.
Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education minister Madhu Bangarappa on Wednesday said that the state government would follow the Supreme Court’s order on permitting hijab inside school and college premises.
The minister’s clarification comes after Karnataka Higher Education minister MC Sudhakar on Sunday announced the government’s decision of allowing students to wear a hijab while writing competitive exams in the state.
“We will follow the SC’s order on hijab. If the Supreme Court allows for the hijab to be worn, if there is no condition, that [ wearing hijab] will continue. We will follow the law,” Bangarappa said.
On Sunday, after briefing chief minister Siddaramaiah about the progress made by the department on various issues, Sudhakar had announced that the state government has decided to allow students to wear a hijab, while writing competitive exams in the state.
The minister further clarified that the candidates will be allowed to wear a hijab while appearing for recruitment-related examinations conducted by Karnataka Examinations Authority. He, however, appealed to such students to arrive at examination centres early to avoid any malpractice.
Sudhakar’s comments sparked a controversy with pro-Hindu groups across the state threatening to stage protests.
Bangarappa further slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alleging that it was focussing on issues to garner votes. “BJP is picking up all these issues because it’s their election agenda. They don’t have any progressive and development agenda. They have only sentimental issues about how they can polarise votes. People are sick of all this. People want a progressive government,” Bangarappa said.
The hijab controversy first started in January 2022 when six students of the Government Pre-University (PU) College in Udupi accused the institute’s administration of not permitting their entry into the university premises while wearing the hijab. The Muslim girls protested outside the institute after being denied the entry.
In retaliation, several Hindu students started attending classes wearing saffron shawls at several educational institutions. The protest soon spread to other parts of the state as well, leading to protests and agitations at several places of Karnataka.
On March 15 last year, a full bench of the Karnataka high court, while upholding the ban imposed on hijab by the then BJP-led state government in schools and colleges, declared that wearing hijab is not mandatory in Islam. The executive order by the high court, declared in February 2022, sparked widespread protests.
A bunch of petitions challenging the high court’s verdict is pending before the Supreme Court.
