India dismissed global criticism of Muslim girls wearing headscarves in schools as motivated comments on internal concerns on Saturday, saying the subject is being investigated by the state high court.
The statement was released just hours following Rashad Hussain, the US ambassador at large for international religious freedom, tweeted about the hijab banning matter in schools violate religious freedom and marginalise women and girls.
Arindam Bagchi, a spokesperson for the external affairs ministry, referred to remarks made by certain countries about the dress code in Karnataka's educational institutions, but did not name any specific country. Bagchi mentioned in his statement that the matter concerning dress code in several educational institutions in the state of Karnataka is under judicial investigation by the High Court of Karnataka. The setting in which issues are evaluated and addressed is the constitutional structure and mechanisms, as well as the democratic culture and polity.
He continued that hose who know India well will have a proper comprehension of these facts. Comments on our internal difficulties that are motivated are not appreciated.
The state of Karnataka has been rocked by the controversy, with Muslim girls wanting to exercise their right to wear the hijab in schools. In December of last year, a group of students at a Karnataka college were banned from attending classrooms and advised not to wear the hijab, a Muslim women's headscarf. The incident at one institution quickly escalated into a big statewide issue, and the debate extended to other colleges.
The Karnataka government postponed the reopening of educational institutes on Friday night, despite the high court's interim decision instructing authorities to reopen schools and colleges that had been closed since Wednesday. As a precaution, the state government has prolonged the closure until February 16, however examinations will continue.
The high court's interim decision also prohibited pupils from wearing saffron shawls or hijabs in class, as well as displaying religious flags.
The US envoy for international religious freedom, who took office last month, tweeted about religious freedoms on the same day that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Melbourne after both leaders attended a Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) meeting of foreign ministers.
Meanwhile, Hussain is the son of Indian-American immigrants and previously worked as former President Barack Obama's special envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). During December, the US Senate overwhelmingly confirmed his nomination as US Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom.