Karnataka Hijab row: Sikh girl told to remove turban by Bengaluru college

Bengaluru: The hijab case took a new twist in a college here when a 17-year-old Sikh girl was asked to remove her turban. But as the girl and her parents stood their ground saying that removing a turban is an insult to their religion, the Mount Carmel College allowed Amritdhari, a baptized Sikh girl, to wear her turban and had to allow Muslim girls to wear the hijab.

It all started when authorities found a group of girls in hijab at the Mount Carmel College and told them about the high court order restraining students from wearing saffron shawls, hijab and religious flags or the like in classrooms of colleges which have prescribed a uniform. However, the girls said no student should be allowed to wear their religious symbols and therefore the Sikh girl also should not be allowed to wear the turban.

“We spoke to the girl’s father and later mailed him. We informed them about the order and told them to abide by it. The father responded that it (the turban) is an integral part of their life. We did not want to interfere, but the other girls have been insisting on uniformity and hence we sent the mail,” a Mount Carmel PU College spokesperson was quoted in the media.

“We never sent them out or are forcing anybody, we are just telling them that we need uniformity in the four walls of the classrooms as per the HC order. In our letter to the father, we have specifically mentioned that we believe in an inclusive society and respect all religious practices. According to the vision and mission of the college, we follow interreligious harmony and have an active inter-religious association,” the college said.

Finally, not wanting to precipitate the issue, the college allowed girls to wear their hijab in classrooms.

"We have not stopped any students at the gates for wearing the hijab. While most of the students have followed the order, a few students continue to sit inside the class wearing the hijab and we are counseling them," Sister Genevieve of the college was quoted in the media.

The girl’s family, however, said the high court will have to clarify on the matter and issue instructions.

The deputy director of pre-university (North) G Sriram said: “The HC order does not say anything about turbans. We should not be dragging in more issues now. We have to only follow the high court order. When I asked the principal, she said the girls are convinced and there are no issues in the college now.”

The girl’s father Gurcharan Singh, who works at a senior level in a major IT company and has been living in Karnataka for the past 17 years, said he told college authorities she would not remove her turban.

“I am in touch with our community advocates and various organizations,” he said, urging the authorities to allow his daughter with her turban to attend classes.