Muslim women at a college in Karnataka state have been barred from attending classes while wearing the headscarf
\n NEW DELHI
\nBarring students from wearing hijab or headscarf is an attack on the \u201csymbols of faith,\u201d said activists and experts in India.
\nFor many weeks now, a group of Muslim women at a college in India\u2019s southern state of Karnataka has been barred from attending classes while wearing the headscarf.
\nOn World Hijab Day being marked on Tuesday, Fawaz Shaheen, the national secretary of the Students Islamic Organisation of India, the student wing of socio-religious organisation Jamaat-e-Islami, told Anadolu Agency that the institutions which have banned students from wearing hijab are doing an \u201cunconstitutional act\u201d.
\n\u201cIt is not sudden and has been happening now, it is connected to the alienation of Muslims. We have seen such narratives for some time now,\u201d he said. \u201cEven cultural habits are being challenged. Such moves have basically attacked the symbols of faith and are happening continuously to polarise the society.\u201d
\nThe government of another state, Kerala, this week said that it cannot allow police cadets to wear hijab and full sleeves.
\nShaheen noted that the wearing of hijab or anything else was a right guaranteed by the Constitution.
\nUrging Indians to speak up, Shaheen said silence against such acts would mean an endorsement.
\n\u201cThe majority should speak … Silence is not an option,\u201d he said.
\nAccording to the Indian Constitution, every citizen has the right to practice, profess and propagate religion. This right can be curtailed only on grounds of public order, morality, and health.
\nLast month, tensions erupted in another government college in Karnataka\u2019s Balagadi village after a group of students turned up wearing saffron scarves \u2014 the colour favoured by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party \u2014 and asked their female classmates from the Muslim community not to wear hijab during classes.
\nSubsequently, the authorities banned hijabs and saffron scarves on the campus.
\nNew Delhi-based activist Aysha Renna told Anadolu Agency that such incidents were on the rise and all possible measure will be taken against it. In Karnataka, the state government has said it will constitute a committee to formulate guidelines on uniforms at colleges.
\nLocal Indian daily The Indian Express quoted State Education Minister B C Nagesh as saying: \u201cWe will look into the court verdicts and what other states have done in such matters and will take steps. We have directed the colleges to follow the present rule till the government decides.\u201d
\nIndian Muslims have witnessed a deterioration of the right to practice faith under the rule of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his right-wing BJP.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Muslim women at a college in Karnataka state have been barred from attending classes while wearing the headscarf NEW DELHI Barring students from wearing hijab or headscarf is an attack on the \u201csymbols of faith,\u201d said activists and experts in India. For many weeks now, a group of Muslim women at a college in India\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-242058","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n