Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has clarified that saffron shawls are not permitted in educational institutions, while existing practices such as hijab, turbans, rudraksha beads, and sacred threads will continue to be allowed.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday refused to put on a saffron shawl and a saffron badge offered by Bharatiya Janata Party leaders at Sitab Diara and Chapra during the launch of L K Advani's rath yatra against corruption. At the public meeting in Sitab Diara, the birth place of Jayaprakash Narayan, Kumar refused to put on a saffron shawl given by BJP leaders. He was then given a white shawl by BJP leaders.
In its interim order issued by the three-judge full bench led by Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, the court also made it clear that the order was confined to such of the institutions wherein the College Development Committees have prescribed the student dress code or uniform.
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The Karnataka government on Thursday ordered that the students studying in schools managed by the minority welfare department schools in the state should not wear saffron scarves, hijab or any religious flags.
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A group of girl students of the college wearing burqas and hijab entered the college and held a protest in the premises raising slogans in favour of the right to wear head scarves.
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The Karnataka high court on February 8 will hear the petitions filed by five girls studying in a Government Pre-University College in Udupi, questioning hijab restriction in college.
In the wake of the 'hijab' (headscarf) row, the Karnataka government has asked educational institutions to follow existing uniform related rules, until the high court comes out with an order in this regard, next week.
The government, however, made it clear entry into classrooms with hijab will not be allowed.
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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 college reopened as practical examinations are scheduled to be held for pre-university (PU) students. For the PU section, only students appearing for the examination are being allowed entry into the college premises.
The hijab-clad students, who came along with their parents, pushed into the compound gate of the college despite a strict order given by the authorities that wearing hijabs will not be allowed as per the status quo on dress code issued by the state government.
The hijab protests began on February 4 at the Government Girls PU college in Udupi district in Karnataka when some students alleged that they had been barred from attending classes.
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The government has already ordered closure of the degree and diploma colleges till February 16.
The principal informed the students that they are not allowed to wear hijab inside the classrooms and asked them to remove the head dress and enter classes.
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He said the home and police department officials are keeping a watch on developments and track things in this connection.
The Bench, constituted on February 9 and comprising the Chief Justice, Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice Jaibunnisa M Khazi, heard on a day-to-day basis over the last two weeks a batch of petitions filed by some girls seeking permission to wear the hijab in educational institutions where a uniform has been prescribed.
"We will pass an order. Let the schools-colleges start. But till the matter is resolved, no student should insist on wearing religious dress," the CJ said.
The hijab-row triggered protests in Karnataka spread across the state on Tuesday, with campuses witnessing 'conflict-like' situations marked by stone-pelting incidents, use of force by police and the Muslim girls standing their ground for wearing the headscarves, prompting calls for peace and calm both by the government and the high court, which is now looking into the students' plea for their right to their hijab.
Security was beefed up on Monday a day after a row broke out over the removal of a saffron Hanuman flag from Keragodu village in Mandya, with protests demanding its restoration and the incident sparking a political confrontation between the Congress government and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party-Janata Dal (Secular).
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The assault allegedly took place over playing Hanuman chalisa, a Hindu devotional hymn in praise of lord Hanuman, at a shop in central Bengaluru area.
Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code has been imposed in sensitive areas in the districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada, and Bengaluru.
According to the lawyers appearing for the petitioner girls from Udupi district, the matter pertaining to hijab case has been listed for Tuesday as serial No. 1 and the court may spell out the operative part of the verdict from 10.30 am onwards.
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They also requested the full bench of the HC to make a leeway to attend classes with headscarves as the court's interim order had suspended their 'fundamental rights'.
Amid tight security with policemen deployed in and around pre-university colleges at many sensitive places, the day saw a section of Muslim students remaining adamant not to remove the burqa, let alone hijab, the Islamic scarves.
The Karnataka unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party allegedly shared the personal details of the girls from Udupi including their residential addresses who had approached the Karnataka high court against the ban on wearing of hijabs in classrooms.
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The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, which was attended by Home Minister Araga Jnanendra, Primary and Secondary Education Minister B C Nagesh, Higher Education Minister C N Ashwath Narayan, and senior officials of the government.
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Noting that such incidents are disturbing the peace of the family, he said the police and state government can initiate any inquiry to ascertain the truth.
The government on Thursday had decided to resume classes for high school students up to class 10 from February 14, and for Pre-University and Degree Colleges thereafter.
Following the HC's interim order, several Muslim girl students had boycotted classes and had skipped the practical exams.
