Karnataka - Hijab Controversy Continues

The controversy over lifiting the ban on wearing hijabs in educational institutions in Karnataka, has now forced Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on the back foot. The ban was imposed by the erstwhile Bharatiya Janata Party government in 2022.

Responding to a question, at a recent function in Mysore, the CM reportedly said that he had instructed officials to revoke the order banning the hijab. “We will take back that decision, there is no hijab ban now. Women can go out wearing hijab. I have told the officials to take back the previous government’s order. It is a personal choice to wear the kind of dress one wants,” Siddaramaiah was quoted by the news agency ANI.

“Dressing and eating food is our choice, why should I object? Wear whatever dress you want, eat whatever you want, why should I care. We should not do politics to get votes, we don't do that,” he reportedly added.

After the Bharatiya Janata Party’s sharp reaction accusing the government of “appeasement politics, with an eye on the forthcoming Parliamentary polls”, and the visible confusion among his officials, Siddaramaiah later clarified that: “no official instructions had been issued yet . We will discuss at the government level and then take a decision.”

However, this foxed his supporters too. According to them, the matter is sub-judice. They highlighted the Chief Justice of India’s reference to setting up a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court to hear the case. The two-judge bench of the Apex Court had delivered a split verdict on the controversial issue in October 2022.

In a subsequent clarification Karnataka’s School Education Minister, Madhu Bangarappa, said that as the matter was sensitive, the government will take a call on it after considering all the legal aspects.

Meanwhile, Udupi district Muslim Okkoota president Yasin Malpe has urged the CM to issue directions to permit Muslim students to wear hijab inside classrooms. According to him, the BJP government’s decision of” hate and intolerance” had forced thousands of innocent Muslim girls students to stop their education midway.

The BJP, which was humbled by the Congress in the recent Assembly elections, has now got an opportunity to attack the ruling party. When it was in power in the state the BJP had banned wearing hijab on educational campuses. The BJP government had argued that the institutions’ dress codes had to be adhered to.

The restriction came after protests by six hijab wearing students who had been prevented from entering their government-run junior college, in Udupi in February 2022. This was followed by protests from members of the minority, and majority communities, each echoing their own views on the subject. The controversy led to the closure of several colleges in the state, for a while.

After protests, the Bommai government banned wearing the hijab inside campuses. Its order to this effect stated that any clothing, other than the dress code, that disturbs equality, integrity and public law and order, would not be allowed.

The matter was referred to the Karnataka High Court which upheld the government order before the affected students approached the Supreme Court. A two-judge bench gave a split verdict. As a result, the case was to be heard by a three-judge bench.

Now, the BJP’s top guns, including former Chief Ministers, B. S. Yeddyurappa, and Bommai, and the state unit party chief, R. Ashok, lashed out at the Congress.

They have accused Siddaramaiah of indulging in vote bank politics, with an eye on the forthcoming Parliamentary polls. According to them, hijab was worn everywhere and the issue was not about a ban. Instead, it was limited to “honouring the dress codes of the educational institutions concerned”.

Yediyurappa claimed that “nobody had demanded that the hijab decision in educational bodies should be withdrawn”. On cue, his son and state BJP president, B. Y. Yeddyurappa, argued that the decision to withdraw the ban in educational institutions raised questions about their secular nature.

The Congress hit back asserting that decisions on the hijab issue will be taken as per the law, and claimed that this was something that the BJP appeared to be ignorant of. The state minister for IT/BT Priyank Kharge, added that the government will remove the laws or rules which went against the state’s overall good.

Echoing this sentiment, H. K. Patil, the state minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs, hit out at the BJP asking if “being secular amounted to appeasement?” Supporting Siddaramaiah, Patil said that the CM knew the law well and his statement reflected the Congress party’s thoughts.

Countering the argument, former Education minister, B. Nagesh, however, claimed that, during its term the BJP government had “merely acted as per the Karnataka Education Act which stated that uniforms were required to be worn in educational institutions”. According to an ‘Indian Express’ report, Nagesh said till the Apex Court settled the issue ,it was imperative to go by the Karnataka High Court which had upheld the government’s decision.

However, the state’s Home Minister, G . Parameshwara, said that former CM Bommai, had himself claimed that his government had never banned the use of hijab in the state in general. Parameshwara added that there was no need to create a controversy as the Congress party will take a call on the issue, in accordance with the country’s Constitutional framework.

Earlier, president of All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen, Asaduddin Owaisi, slammed Siddaramaiah for what he termed was “indecisiveness in taking the required decision on revoking the hijab ban”.