Students in Karnataka are protesting against the college authorities over girls’ rights to wear Hijab in classes that are spreading to several more colleges. This morning over 40 girls were standing at the gates of Bhandarkars Arts and Science Degree College in Kundapur in Udupi district of Karnataka wearing hijabs since the authorities didn’t allow them to enter the premises unless they remove their head coverings before entering. The students demanded an answer to know why the administration has put a sudden ban on the Hijab when the rules never mentioned anything like that.
The instruction manual of the college says, “Girl students are permitted to wear the scarf on campus, however, the color of the scarf should match with the dupatta, and no student is allowed to wear any other cloth inside the campus including the college canteen”.
According to Principal Shetty, he is looking towards the maintenance of harmony on the college campus. He said, “I am a government employee. I will have to follow all the instructions of the government. I was told some students will enter the college wearing saffron shawls, and if harmony is disturbed in the name of religion, the principal will be held responsible”.
The issue started when a group of boys appeared wearing shawls in saffron color on Wednesday in contradiction to Hijab. To restrict communal stress, the administration of the college asked the girls to enter classes without their headcovers. The vice president of the Udupi College Administrative Committee said it would take him five minutes to stop opposition with the Hindu organizations. “Through Hindu organizations, we can stop this within five minutes. There are around 900 students in the college. These six students are creating chaos with the support of PFI and CFI organizations. We will stop this resistance for sure, and make a decision on how to stop it through Hindu organizations”.
