Bengaluru Karnataka education minister MC Sudhakar on Monday defended the state government’s decision to allow students to wear the hijab while appearing for competitive and recruitment examinations after the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stoked a political controversy over the fractious issue.
At the centre of the row is the state government’s decision last year — it was controlled by the BJP at the time — to issue an order saying “The private school administration can choose a uniform of their choice” after a pre-university college in Udupi disallowed students from wearing Hijab. The Karnataka high court upheld the government order on uniforms, and the issue is pending before the Supreme Court.
On Sunday, after briefing chief minister Siddaramaiah, Sudhakar had announced that students will be allowed to wear the hijab during competitive and government recruitment exams in the state. Exams are being held by the Karnataka Examinations Authority on October 28 and 29 to fill vacancies in five corporations.
“I think that the people who are protesting should verify the guidelines of the NEET exam. I don’t know why are they making an issue out of this… People are allowed to wear hijabs,” Sudhakar said. According to the NEET guidelines on the dress codes, candidates following a certain religion “are allowed to wear the customary dress while appearing for the examination”.
His comments came after some pro-Hindutva groups threatened protest. BJP legislator Yashpal Suvarna — who led the protests against the hijab headscarf in educational institutions when the row first erupted in Karnataka’s Udupi last year — urged the Congress government to reconsider its decision. He said the party will discuss the matter and take a decision.
“Hijab has been banned and the final decision is pending before the Supreme Court. In such a situation, no government will have the right to interfere. Sudhakar, being the higher education minister, must respect the order and the law. It will be contempt of court,” Suvarna said. It was not clear whether the government will also extend the decision to school and college examinations.
The hijab controversy first erupted in January last year when six students of the Government Pre-University (PU) College in Udupi accused the institute’s administration of not allowing them to enter the premise 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 in several educational institutions.
On March 15 last year, the Karnataka high court declared that wearing the hijab was not mandatory in Islam and upheld the February 5 executive order. The students moved the Supreme Court, which a split verdict on the issue. The matter is now slated to be heard by a larger bench.
Source: Hindustan Times
