Hijab row in Karnataka schools- Uniform against Secularism.
Hijab means- ‘To cover’.
Though not mentioned anywhere in Quran by word, the holy book of Muslims States that Muslim women ought to wear a Hijab, to cover their hair and chest when they’re out in public. This is signified as a symbol of respect to the Prophet. Quran says that women who wear Hijab must, by all means, be treated with the utmost respect by all men.
Thus stated, it’s as peaceful as wearing ‘Janeyu’ in Brahmins Or Turban in Sikhs.
It doesn’t in any way creates public nuisance or appeals as offensive or hurtful to anyone’s emotions.
What happened?
At the beginning of January 2022, six girls in the Karnataka PU college in the Udupi district were denied entry into the classroom for wearing a hijab. This issue intrigued many other colleges and schools in the state following which on the 5th of February, the Karnataka government issued an order making following the code of uniforms compulsory for all colleges and universities where the policy existed.
It should be mentioned here that, under the ‘Karnataka Education Act, 1983’, Sec. 145(1), the recognised educational institutions can decide on uniforms for their students. But there were no decided uniforms for the PU college in Udupi. Before the issue arose, many Muslim girls had already been wearing Hijab to school regularly.
The students and authorities approached the High Court of Karnataka and the National Human Rights Commission, following which, wearing any kind of symbol of religion was banned in schools and colleges.
To date, this issue has taken several lives in both the Hindu and Muslim communities. It has incited hate speeches and acts leading to utter disgrace to the educational institutions. Schools and colleges had to be closed for several days leading to disruption in studies.
The hijab ban has been opposed and criticized internationally while it has been defended by well-known bureaucrats like Arif Mohammed Khan, Taslima Nasreen and Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
Before pondering over what is wrong or right, certain questions need to be answered.
- Did the girls start wearing Hijab in January?
The population in Karnataka has 13% of Muslim people. Muslim women have been increasingly accessing educational institutions and intellectual programs. It is indeed a big deal because history itself speaks that the Muslim women community had to overcome huge adversities to be able to even step out of their homes, leave joining educational institutions.
It therefore should have been a moral responsibility of fellow citizens to let them peacefully access the amenities as long as it wasn’t disturbing anyone’s sentiments.
The college where the ban began had no particular uniform code and many Muslim girls had been regularly wearing Hijab even before January 2022.
It isn’t being shown by many media groups for obvious reasons, but the protest was started by the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student union following BJP propaganda. This intrigued other students to oppose Hijab by sporting saffron scarves in schools and colleges.
A big question arises here, was it Hijab that created public nuisance?
Everyone knows the answer to this.
- Why had they been allowed till now?
Using powers conferred under the ‘Karnataka Education Act, 1983’, Sec. 145(1), the Government of Karnataka empowered recognised educational institutions to decide on uniforms for their students. The PU college of Udupi where the protest began had no particular uniform code. A code was enforced to prevent the riots and acts of violence from taking place in the name of religious sentiments.
Are religious symbols so important that so many lives were lost protecting them?
We can see the failure of India as a Secular country here.
- What about the pseudo-feminist propaganda of ‘My body my choice’?
Stripping clothes off in public and shouting for equality in the name of nudity is common in today’s era. But where are the same so-called feminists when women and young girls are being tortured for wearing particular apparel in the name of toxic BJPian propaganda?
- Is wearing a Hijab immoral or oppressive for women?
Many countries have seen protests by Muslim women themselves for being forced to wear a Hijab or Burqa.
But are all women being oppressed?
Who are we as the followers of diverse religions to assume that a particular sect is being forced to wear particular apparel while in reality, they’re doing it by choice?
Article 25 of the constitution of India says “all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practise, and propagate religion subject to public order, morality and health.”
But this particular phrase seems to have been crumbled as a useless piece of paper and thrown into the trash.
Even if Muslim women are being forced to wear Hijab and the toxic Hindu sect is trying to liberate them, they must firstly open their eyes and gaze at the fact the same Muslim women are the strongest protestors of the Hijab ban.
- Is wearing saffron an answer to the upliftment of secularism?
India is a secular state, but with its definition. Secularism in India means we support all religions and respect their sentiments. There is not one strict religion to be followed. We have diversity in all aspects including religion.
But the passing of ‘Anti-conversion’ law, changing names of famous public places into symbols of Hinduism, having a CM who publicly sports brahmin apparels, displays hate symbols and speeches against Muslims in the name of historical oppression of Hindus, when he wasn’t even born! Where are we going as a democratic nation?
Either remove the word ‘Secularism’ from the preamble of India and actively obstinate Islam and uplift toxic ‘Akhand Bharat’ propaganda or be a civilized Indian leader and follow the Constitution as the only holy grail is the need of current times.
Banning all sorts of apparel promoting religious sentiments is the right thing to do to avoid violence taking place in the place of education.
But the way it all started states the immoral intentions of the central government to make the citizens stay involved in such senseless issues as a uniform row in schools.
We the people of India are one and must stand as one, irrespective of the religion we must follow and practise tolerance towards other religions.
India being a developing country needs citizens with an ambitious mindset instead of brainwashed young individuals who are dropping out of colleges and taking it to roads to create an actual public nuisance to satisfy their toxic grudge against individuals of other religions.
edited and proofread by nikita sharma
