At the Kundapura govt PU College in Udupi, Karnataka, a decision has been made for Muslim girls who insist on sitting in class wearing hijab. Girls wearing hijab will be given a separate room by the college administration where they can sit as a result of this decision. However, they will be admitted to the class only if they remove their hijab and wear the mandatory uniform.
Mohandas Shenoy, the spokesperson for the PU College Development Committee, told the media that the 135-year-old college could no longer be publicly humiliated because of a frivolous controversy. Muslim girls who are protesting outside and wearing hijab will be given a separate room to sit in and study. However, they will only be allowed to join the regular classroom if they remove their hijab.
‘Latest visuals’ from the college shared by ANI showed some students wearing not ‘hijab’ but the full-body black burqa inside the campus.
Karnataka: Students wearing hijab allowed entry into the campus of Government PU College, Kundapura today but they will be seated in separate classrooms. Latest visuals from the campus. pic.twitter.com/rEE8HfVzR1
— ANI (@ANI) February 7, 2022
While speaking, Shenoy urged parents to support the college administration by fulfilling their responsibilities, and students to adhere to the institution’s dress code.
Notably, since the hijab controversy erupted at PU College in Udupi, Karnataka, the college has been the subject of frequent debate. The police had also apprehended two people from the area the day before. Rajab and Haji Abdul Majeed were the ones identified. Both of them had firearms retrieved by the authorities. Three more suspects are being sought by the Police.
The recent Hijab Controversy in Karnataka
The Hijab controversy, which started at a school in Udupi, Karnataka, has now spread across the state. On the morning of February 3, more than 20 hijab-wearing female students were prohibited from entering Bhandarkar College in Kundapur, Karnataka’s Udupi district. The PU College problem first came to light on January 2, 2022, when six Muslim female students insisted on wearing hijab in the classroom, in violation of the uniform rule.
Because the girls refused to remove their Hijabs, openly flouting the uniform mandate, numerous boys preferred to go around campus wearing saffron scarves in order to protest this. They were all denied entry because their clothes differed from the standard uniform permitted at the institution.
Since early January, the state has convened a committee to evaluate the matter and make a judgment on pre-university college uniforms across the state.
Minister debunks media reports
Earlier today, some media outlets had published reports claiming that the hijab/burqa-clad students were given a separate classroom. Karnataka Education Minister has stated that it was a misleading claim and the said students were only given a room as per courtesy since they have been sitting outside the campus.
He added that the college authorities had tried to convince the said students to follow the uniform rules and attend classes, but the students refused. The minister and the college authorities have clarified that the students will be allowed in classrooms only when they are in uniform.
Muslims had boycotted the Hindus prior to the Hijab dispute in the same area
The ironic part is that two months before this occurrence, Muslims in Udupi had boycotted Hindus. The fundamental reason for this was opposition to cow slaughter. According to sources, on October 1, 2021, Hindu Jagran Manch held a big demonstration against cattle theft and cow slaughter in Gangoli, Taluk. The event drew tens of thousands of people, including fishermen, seafood vendors, and women.
Following this, the Muslims in the vicinity banned the purchase of fish from Hindus at Gangoli market, and a few months later, the college conflict occurred. Now, Hindu girls have shown up at school wearing saffron scarves, saying that if Muslim students are allowed exemption from the college dress code, they will flout the rules too.
