New Delhi: Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi on the occasion of Saraswati Puja took a dig at the Karnataka govt for their vile decision on headscarves in educational institutions. Showing solidarity with the Muslim girls of Karnataka, Gandhi tweeted- By letting students’ hijab come in the way of their education, we are robbing the future of the daughters of India. Ma Saraswati gives knowledge to all. She doesn’t differentiate.
The controversy over wearing a hijab in an educational institution has been gaining mileage over the past few weeks. Muslim students are being denied permission to attend classes if they have their hijab. A score of protests is being held after the schools and colleges re-opened in the Udipi district from February 1st.
On Friday, some 40 Muslim students agitated at the Bhandarkar’s Arts and Science Degree College in Kundapur. The students were not permitted unless they removed their headscarves. The intransigency by the students flamed the saffron scarf protests across colleges in the state. Hindu boys put on saffron scarves and raised religious slogans for allowing Muslim girls to wear Hijab.
The Karnataka govt allows state-run colleges to frame their own code of conduct on the matter. Some colleges permit while several deny entry. The ambiguity is with whether they can wear it in the classroom or not. The issue has been projected in a religiously polarised climate, with ministers intervening between the students and educational authorities.