Hijab row a chance for Sangh Parivar to test waters in coastal Karnataka?

Jerry Amal

This is one controversy which hit the national limelight like a bolt from the blue and is creating huge ripples at the national and even international level. The hijab-saffron shawl row in Karnataka, with its epicentre in the coastal town of Udupi, has rocked national politics and social life like no other controversy. All eyes are now on the Karnataka high court which is hearing a batch of petitions filed by girl students of a pre-university college in Udupi, challenging the ban on hijab in classrooms. Jerry Amal examines various facets of the raging controversy.

Eighteen-year-old Lamiz is yet to come to terms with the trauma she had endured two weeks ago.

On February 3, the undergraduate student in psychology was on her way to the Bhandarkars’ Arts and Science College in Kundapura, Udupi when the security guard asked her to remove her hijab. The unexpected directive unsettled her, but she mustered enough courage and walked towards the college only to be confronted by the superintendent, who, also was urging Muslim girls to take off the headscarf. “I did not listen to him either and stepped into my class. An hour later, our principal informed us that he would not allow hijab-clad girls to attend the lectures,” she recounted.

When Lamiz pointed out that the college rules permitted Muslim girls to wear headscarves that match with their dupatta, Principal Narayana Shetty expressed his helplessness. He said he had received a warning that if he allowed hijab, more than 200 Hindu students would enter the college wrapping saffron shawls around their necks. Lamiz then requested him to reconsider the decision, but he told her to go home, talk to her parents and find a solution. Two policemen escorted her to the bus stop from where she returned home.

“I was crestfallen when the principal gave me the marching orders because I loved my college very much. The series of events that led to my ouster are still fresh in my mind. I think it will take a long time to heal the wounds. I haven’t been to college since then,” she said.

Lamiz is one of the enterprising students at Bhandarkars’ College. She had scored 95 per cent marks in Class 10 examination. She writes poems, participates in debates and comperes programmes. Her vast network of friends include Hindus, Muslims and Christians. “Teachers are so fond of me. They are urging me to return to class now,” she said.

Lamiz hopes to return to the college soon, putting on the hijab. “I was born in a religious Muslim family. After entering my teens, my parents told me that I have the freedom to choose my clothes. I opted for the hijab as it gave me confidence. Moreover, Article 25 (1) of our Constitution guarantees me the right to practise my religion. Then what is wrong in insisting that I will return to college wearing the headscarf?,” she asked.

At present, the Karnataka High Court is considering a batch of petitions from Muslim students seeking permission to wear hijab in classrooms. In an interim order on February 10, the court had banned all religious clothes in educational institutions.

The genesis of a ‘row’
The Muslim girls’ fight to wear hijab - often termed by the mainstream media as hijab row - began after a few colleges in Udupi in coastal Karnataka had asked them to take off the headscarf while attending classes.

The Government Women’s Pre-University College in Udupi was the first institution to ban hijab in the State after six girls - out of 75 Muslim students in the college - sought permission to wear the headscarf in December 2021. But the College Development Committee (CDC) - a powerful panel comprising people’s representatives and parents - eventually turned down the plea. Aggrieved students launched a protest in front of the college and it went on to hog national and international media limelight.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and legislator from Udupi Raghupati Bhat, who happens to be the chairman of the College Development Committee, gave the issue a communal tinge when he alleged that the girls were ‘acting at the behest of hard-line Islamist organisations’. He even demanded a probe by the National Investigation Agency into their activities

Despite his outbursts, Muslim Okkootta - a congregation of Muslim religious and political organisations in Udupi district - pleaded with Bhat to retract the decision and allow Muslim girls to wear headscarves.

“He told us that if he allowed hijab, then Hindu students would attend classes with saffron shawls. The MLA stated this a month before the saffron shawl protests rocked colleges in Karnataka. This indicated that the hijab ban and the controversies that ensued were part of a pre-planned agenda set by the Sangh Parivar,”