Indian Court Upholds State Hijab Ban In Schools, Could Set National Precedent

Pupils wearing hijabs come to class as a female police officer stands guard outside a public girls’ school following a recent hijab ban, in the city of Udupi in the southern state of Karnataka, India February 16, 2022. REUTERS/Sunil Kataria

NEW DELHI, March 15 – An Indian court on Tuesday upheld a hijab ban in classrooms in the southern state of Karnataka, a decision that could set a precedent for the rest of the country, which has a large Muslim minority. .

The government’s ban last month sparked protests from some Muslim students and their parents, as well as counter-protests from Hindu students. Critics of the ban say it is another way of marginalizing the community, which accounts for about 13% of India’s Hindu majority population of 1.35 billion.

“We are of the long-standing view that the wearing of the hijab by Muslim women is not part of the mainstream religious practice in the Islamic faith,” Chief Justice of Karnataka Ritu Raj Awasti said in the decision.

He said the government has the right to enact uniform rules while rejecting various petitions challenging the ban imposed by Karnataka.

“We are of the sound opinion that prescribing school uniforms is only a reasonable restriction allowed by the constitution that students cannot object to,” Awasti said.

Aisha Imtiaz, a third-year undergraduate student from the Karnataka district of Udupi, where the protests began, said she would either drop out of a public college or choose to study by correspondence. She said her Muslim classmates planned to do the same.

“We cannot take off the hijab, we will not take off the hijab,” she said. “Next month we have exams for the fifth semester. We’ll have to skip them if nothing changes by then.”

Ahead of the verdict, authorities in the state of Karnataka announced the closure of schools and colleges and imposed restrictions on public gatherings in parts of the state to prevent possible problems.

NATIONAL PRECEDENT

Federal Home Minister Amit Shah said last month that he prefers students to wear school uniforms rather than any religious attire. There is currently no central law or regulation on school uniforms in the country, but the Karnataka ordinance may encourage more states to issue such regulations. More

The Islamic Students Organization of India, which represents thousands of Muslim students across the country, said it fears Tuesday’s verdict will prompt more states to ban the hijab in classrooms.

“We don’t want this to become a national precedent and we want it to be abolished,” National Secretary Musab Qazi said. “The court verdict could prompt more states to ban it. Therefore, in all likelihood, we will appeal to the Supreme Court.”

Karnataka, home to Bangalore’s tech hub, is the only southern state ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and state assembly elections will be held next year.

Critics say the BJP could benefit from the division between Hindus and Muslims, though the party claims the hijab ban has nothing to do with their political ambitions. More

“DEEP DISAPPOINTMENT”

The students challenging the ban in court said that wearing the hijab is a fundamental right guaranteed by India’s constitution and an important practice of Islam. Reuters was unable to immediately contact the applicants.

Muslim politicians, including former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbuba Mufti, called the verdict “deeply disappointing.”

“On the one hand, we are talking about empowering women, but at the same time denying them the right to an easy choice,” she wrote on Twitter. “It’s not just about religion, it’s also about freedom of choice.”

Karnataka state ministers told reporters that Muslim students who are not attending classes to protest the ban should respect the verdict and return to school.

The ban sparked protests in some other parts of the country as well, and drew criticism from the United States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

Message from Krishna N. Das; Additional report by Devjyot Ghoshal and Sunil Kataria; Edited by Christopher Cushing and Sri Navaratnam

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