The hijab row in Karnataka intensified on Monday with some students seeking to defy the government order mandating uniform style of clothes even as Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai issued an appeal to maintain peace. At a college at Kundapur in Udupi district, the principal talked to girl students wearing hijab and explained the government order to them. But the students insisted on wearing the headscarves, and were asked to go to a separate room.
Education Minister BC Nagesh said students who insist on hijab-wearing will not be allowed into the government educational institutions. Then, he asked some students protesting on the street outside the college to sit in a separate room but they were not imparted lessons. “Protesting on the road is a nuisance. So they were asked to sit in a room but under no circumstances they were allowed to sit in the classrooms, nor were separate classes held for them,” Nagesh said.
“Girls sitting on the road is not Indian culture,” he said and went on to say, “Indian culture has given women a respectable position. Hence, a separate room for them... The innocent children aren't aware how to reach schools.” According to him, the separate arrangement is only for a day as everyone is waiting for the hearing in the Karnataka High Court over the row. “Ours is not a Pakistani culture. It is Indian culture. These girls aren't aware of the school norms and customs, and they will understand later,” Nagesh said.
A group of students came in a procession wearing saffron shawls. They were prevented from entering the premises by their principal. The students said they will wear the shawls if hijab-wearing girls were allowed in class. They later agreed to enter the classes without the shawls only after the principal assured them that no hijab-wearing student will be allowed.
There were reports of students in Chikkaballapura, Bagalkote, Belagavi, Hassan and Mandya coming to colleges wearing hijab in defiance of the government order issued on Saturday banning any cloth other than the uniform.
2 held for flashing knives during protest
Two people were arrested on charges of brandishing knives during the hijab-saffron shawl protest by students in Kundapur, the police said on Monday. They were arrested near the government pre-university college on a tip-off that five people arrived at the spot with weapons to create communal tension on Friday, the police said. The accused have been identified as Abdul Majeed, 32, and Rajab, 41, both from Gangolli in Kundapur taluk. Police are on the lookout for three other persons suspected to be involved in the case.
