Hijab row leads to confrontation between two Karnataka colleges

Dakshina Kannada, March 4 (IANS): The controversy over wearing a hijab resurfaced in Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district of Mangaluru on Friday.

This time two groups of students from P. Dayananda Pai and the P. Satish Pai Government First Grade college in Mangaluru confronted each other over the hijab issue.

However, the police restored normalcy in the college campus.

The principals of the colleges have allowed the students to wear a cloth around their head and appear for exams in the college. The students have been told not to use pins over the cloth which resembles a hijab.

The girl students, who appeared for the exams with a piece of cloth around their head, were met with protests by a few students who asked the former to leave the examination hall.

This led to an argument between the two groups of students leading to a confrontation.

Later, the students started quarrelling at the entrance of the college. However, the police rushed to the spot and took control of the situation.

The principals of the colleges also held a peace meeting and the situation is under control now, according to the police.

The students have expressed their anger over the incident as the college was not affected with the hijab row until now, though it surfaced in other colleges.

Hiba Sheik, a student, said the issue has been festering since the last month and why is the government interfering in the matter.

“We (Muslim girl students) were allowed permission inside the college premises and have been told that we can also sit in the library and study. The principal has also assured of organising online classes for us,” she added.

The principal has asked the girls to wear shawls around their heads, letters have been sent it and the latter had taken permission before going to the examination hall.

The hijab row began in Udupi Government Girls’ pre-university college in December which turned into a major crisis in the state.

The High Court has constituted a special bench to look into the issue and the matter has been reserved for a final judgment. The Karnataka BJP government has claimed that it is the handiwork of a few organisations to disturb peace in the state.

However, the students who started the pro-hijab protest, pressing for their right to wear the hijab during classes, have maintained that they are protesting without help from any organisation.