New Delhi
\nA state in southern India re-opened some schools on Monday that had been closed following protests last week over female students not being allowed to wear hijabs, or head-to-toe burqas, in class.
\nThe issue, widely seen by India\u2019s Muslim minority community as a bid to sideline it by authorities in a Hindu-dominated nation, comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prepares for elections in key states.
\nPolice stood guard as students in pink uniforms, about a dozen wearing hijabs, entered a government girl\u2019s school where the issue first flared in Karnataka state\u2019s district of Udupi, about 400 km (248 miles) from the tech hub of Bengaluru.
\nAuthorities have banned gatherings of more than five people within 200 metres (650 ft) of educational institutions in the area, which have begun classes from primary to high school, although higher grades and colleges are still shut.
\nThe move came after a state court, which has set a hearing of the matter for Monday, told students not to wear any religious clothing, ranging from saffron shawls to scarves or hijabs, in classrooms until further orders.
\n\u201cWhether wearing of hijab in the classroom is a part of essential religious practice of Islam in the light of constitutional guarantees needs a deeper examination,\u201d the court said in an interim order last week.
\nThe issue was spotlighted following protests last week after some schools refused entry to students wearing the garments, deemed to have fallen foul of a Feb. 5 order on uniforms by the state, which is ruled by Modi\u2019s BJP.
\nThe party derives its support mainly from the majority Hindu community, which forms about 80% of India\u2019s population of roughly 1.4 billion, while Muslims account for about 13%.
\nAyesha Imthiaz, a student in Udupi, said it was humiliating to be asked to take off the hijab before class.
\nShe felt her \u201creligion had been questioned and insulted by a place which I had considered as a temple of education,\u201d she told Reuters on the weekend.
\nAn official in the coastal district of Udupi, Pradeep Kurudekar S, told reporters authorities would wait for further orders from the court or the government to resume all classes.
\nThe issue prompted expressions of support for Muslim girls and women from the U.S. government and Nobel Peace laureate Malala Yousafzai.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New Delhi A state in southern India re-opened some schools on Monday that had been closed following protests last week over female students not being allowed to wear hijabs, or head-to-toe burqas, in class. The issue, widely seen by India\u2019s Muslim minority community as a bid to sideline it by authorities in a Hindu-dominated nation, […]<\/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-244490","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n