Hijab heat spreads to more districts in Karnataka

Bengaluru: The hijab issue which started in one school in Udupi city earlier this week has now spread to two other districts -- Mysuru and Belagavi. Bureaucrats and police are hoping against hope that it does not enter Dakshina Kannada where it all began in 2009. In such eventuality, things could escalate quickly and assume deadlier proportions, they fear.

In Mysuru a few Muslim students came to St Philomenas College wearing hijab and burkha. "It is an act of solidarity with our sisters in Udupi school. We were allowed into classes as there is no uniform rule in our college," said the girls. At Kundapur Bhandarkar's College in Udupi, a tense situation prevailed when hundreds of students came wearing saffron shawls in an apparent move to counter hijab demand. The police had tough time stopping them outside the gate.

In Belagavi Ramadurga government pre-university college students arrived wearing saffron shawls. They were stopped at the gate by the police and gave them entry only after they removed the saffron shawls. Similarly, Koppa in Chikkamagaluru police had to intervene to restore order.

At Kundapur the hijab issue entered the third day on Friday. Some students wearing hijab along with their parents and community leader sat outside the college gate. They raised slogans. Soon the police arrived and asked them to go away.

Some Muslim leaders provided biryani for lunch for the students.

The Hindu Jagarana Vedike activists accused the Muslim political parties like Popular Front of India and Social Democratic Party of India of encouraging girl students to wear hijab to their schools and colleges. The Vedike activists who are now in consultation with Bajrang Dal and ABVP are trying to intensify the movement against hijab in the State with more coordination between the organisations. It is indicated that schools and colleges in Chikkamagluru towns like Koppa, Sringeri and NR Pura will also brace up for the anti-hijab movement.

"We know that Muslim organisations and political parties like Campus Front of India, Social Democratic Party of India and Popular Front of India which has many former Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) activists, are pressing for Islamic dress code in colleges in defiance of the rules and social order. The hijab movement has been orchestrated by them to which the young girl students are falling prey, HJV activists pointed out. About 12 hijab-clad girls were not allowed to enter the Government PU College in Byndoor. This caused a lot of controversies. About 150 boys wore saffron shawls. The college then decided not to let both groups in.

The Women in India Movement (WIM) which is promoted by SDPI has also taken up the issue. Shahida Tasneem, national general secretary of WIM said "the schools and colleges in Karnataka that are not allowing hijab are anti-women and terrorising women from entering the college. In the coming days we will take a nationwide movement against such tendencies."

SDPI, PFI and Campus Front of India have already declared support for restoring the right of girl students to wear hijab in classroom.