The Karnataka government stated on Friday that the holiday declared for PU, degree, engineering and diploma colleges and universities under the Department of Higher Education and colleges under the Department of Collegiate and Technical Education (DCTE) in the wake of the Hijab issue has been extended until February 16. Until then, the institutions have been directed to conduct online classes.
It may be recalled that Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai ordered the closure of all high schools and institutions in Karnataka for the next three days on February 8, after the burqa debate in the state took a nasty turn. However, with the hijab controversy spiralling out of control and protests continuing across the state, the Karnataka state government has decided to prolong the holiday for colleges under the Higher Education Department, which would now remain closed till Wednesday, February 16.
The Karnataka government has also directed district deputy commissioners and police superintendents to follow the high court’s interim decision prohibiting students from wearing Hijab or any religious clothes till the disposal of the case.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai convened a ministerial meeting today through video conference with Deputy Commissioners (DCs), Superintendents of Police (SPs), Deputy Director of Public Instruction (DDPIs), and CEOs of Zilla Panchayats from across the state to assess the situation on the ground.
Stating that law and order must be preserved at all costs and that efforts must be taken to prevent outside provocation, Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said that officials have been directed to remain on the ground and monitor the situation in their designated locations.
Karnataka HC orders students not to wear any religious clothing in colleges till the matter is disposed
On February 10, the Karnataka High Court passed an interim order in the Hijab ban matter asking the students not to wear anything religious in nature till the disposal of the case. The order was passed while the court was hearing a batch of petitions filed by Muslim girl students in the state claiming that the colleges have restricted their entry as they wear hijab.
“We will pass an order that let the institutions start, but till the matter is pending, these students and stakeholders will not insist on wearing any religious garment or headdress. We will restrain everyone. We want peace and tranquillity…Till the disposal of the matter, you people should not insist on wearing all these religious things. We will restrain everyone (in the interim) from adopting all these practices,” the Court noted.
Tensions have prevailed at various educational institutions in Karnataka’s Udupi, Shivamogga, Bagalkote and other parts over the Hijab row. On Tuesday, incidents of stone-pelting and violence were reported from various parts of the state. Police reportedly resorted to lathi-charge to quell up the mob, which began pelting stones at Pre-University Colleges in various districts of the state.
Karnataka hijab controversy
The Hijab controversy, which began in a school in Udupi, Karnataka, has now extended throughout the state. More than 20 hijab-wearing female students were barred from entering Bhandarkar College in Kundapur, Karnataka’s Udupi district, on February 3. The PU College issue originally surfaced on January 2, 2022, when six Muslim female students insisted on wearing hijab in class, despite the fact that it was against the uniform rules.
Many boys decided to protest by wearing saffron scarves throughout campus because the girls refused to remove their Hijabs, openly flouting the uniform regulation. They were all turned away since their clothing did not match the institution’s prescribed uniform.
Campus Front of India counselling burqa clad people over hijab controversy
Ever since the hijab issue snowballed into a major controversy with protests being reported from many parts of the state, the link between it and the involvement of the Campus Front of India (CFI) has also emerged. On Thursday, February 10, investigative journalist and activist Vijay Patel shared a Tweet thread revealing how radical groups and the left-liberal media have exploited the hijab controversy in Udupi, Karnataka, to spread their venomous anti-India propaganda.
In fact, Congress has also been trying to exploit the controversy to malign the central government. Priyanka Gandhi had earlier conflated the Karnataka hijab row with women’s rights issues, falsely insinuating that the hijab-clad girls are being denied their “constitutional rights”.
