The incident of 25 students took place at Kundapur Government Pre-University College in Udupi district, where Hindu students reached college on Wednesday wearing saffron towels Objection to Muslim students wearing hijab a meeting was called by Kundapuri BJP MLA Haldi Srinivas Shetty during which it was decided to ban the entry of students wearing hijab.
On Thursday, Muslim students wearing hijab were stopped at the main gate by the college principal and other officials. They were explicitly told that they could enter the premises only if they removed the Islamic head scarf. The students objected to the move and questioned why such a rule was suddenly imposed.
While college principal Ramakrishna was not available for comment, he was heard saying in a video, “As a government employee, I am following the orders of the department.”
A Muslim student of the college said that a meeting was called on Wednesday to persuade the parents of the Muslim ward to send them without dupatta on their heads. However, he was not convinced. The student said that since Hindu students threatened to wear saffron towels in classes, the college came under pressure and banned the hijab. The student said, “We have been attending classes wearing hijabs for so many years but the rule was implemented in a day.
The college administration is in trouble as the decision to ban the hijab was taken by the College Development Monitoring Committee (CDMC) headed by MLA Shetty. Meanwhile, the Karnataka High Court will hear next week a petition filed by a student of Udupi Pre-University Government Girls College, seeking a direction to allow Muslim students to wear hijab in the college.
Karnataka Education Minister BC Nagesh on Thursday said that educational institutions should not become a battlefield of two communities. “It is a sacred space and every student should feel the same. As it is now before the court, let us see what comes out. The final report will be submitted and will be followed from the next academic year.
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