Hijab row at Uppinangady college; 6 students suspended

MANGALURU: The hijab row has resurfaced in yet another college in the coastal district of Dakshina Kannada, forcing the authorities to suspend six students for wearing the headscarf, despite repeated warnings. The Government First Grade College at Uppinangady on Wednesday suspended six students for a week after the Principal held a meeting with faculty members in this connection.

The six students who have been suspended allegedly wore the hijab in the classroom, despite repeated attempts by the college authorities to inform them that their conduct was in violation of state government and High Court's orders. Following the suspension, as more students came to college wearing hijab on Thursday (today), another section of students wore saffron shawl in protest and demanded they should not be allowed to enter classes, forcing the police to intervene.

Authorities did not allow both hijab and saffron shawl wearing students to attend classes, sources said. A couple of Journalists who were there to cover the hijab controversy were allegedly illegally confined, their cameras were snatched and footage was deleted by some "miscreants" on Thursday, authorities said. Following the incident, the local Journalists' association has sought action against the miscreants and has submitted a memorandum in this regard to the district Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police. Meanwhile, the hijab issue at the University College in Mangaluru that came to the fore last week has continued to persist, as about 15 girl students came to college wearing headscarf, and they were not allowed to enter classes. Efforts made by the Principal and authorities to convince them to attend classes without head scarfs failed. A group of students had staged a protest at the Mangaluru's University College campus last week alleging that a few Muslim girl students are attending classes wearing the headscarf.

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The Karnataka High Court on March 15 had dismissed petitions filed by a group of Muslim students, seeking permission to wear hijab inside classrooms. The three-judge bench of the court consisting of Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice J M Khazi further noted that the prescription of school uniforms is only a reasonable restriction, constitutionally permissible, which the students cannot object to.

Following the High Court order, the Department of Pre-University Education has made uniforms prescribed by the College Development Committee, compulsory for Pre-University (PU) students from the 2022-23 academic year. It also states that in case no uniform is prescribed by the College Development Committee or management, students must wear a garment which will "maintain equality and unity, and which does not disturb public order".

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