Burqa Ban: What Is The Real Issue?
In January, at a government PU college in Udupi, six girls asked to leave because they were wearing burqas to class. In retaliation, five girls filed a petition at the Karnataka High Court raising concerns about the burqa ban at colleges.
Karnataka’s Udupi College principal, Rudre Gowda, reportedly stated that “no one has requested a hijab for 35 years“. Adding further, he said that religious attire, such as the hijab, was permitted on campus but not inside the classroom.
In an interview with India today, principal Rudre Gowda said, “For the last 35 years, there has been no hijab in college.”
We allow them to come to the college wearing it, but not inside the classroom. During class hours, all students have to be in uniform with no hijab. Only after December 27, did they say they wanted to wear the hijab in the classroom.”
The Burqa row has rapidly spread to other colleges nearby in Kundapur and Byndoor. A group of girls staged a demonstration at Bannimantapa in favour of the Burqa.
Amid the ongoing controversy, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday asked to keep peace and let children study.
Bommai said, “All the concerned people (in the Udupi hijab row) should keep the peace and let the children study. The matter will be presented in the High Court. Let’s wait for it. “
The state’s Home Minister, Araga Jnanendra on Tuesday, while appealing for peace, said, “You (students) are all educated. You have to think about your future. After two years of COVID-19, this year’s classes have been conducted in a good way. This is the time for you to prepare for your exams that are coming up in a couple of months.”
Burqa Ban Timeline
Vijay Patel, an investigative journalist, published a Tweet thread on Thursday, February 10. He demonstrates how radical groups and the left-liberal media have used the hijab debate in Udupi, Karnataka, to disseminate their anti-India propaganda. That is, to instil fear in Muslims’ hearts by providing a dismal picture of the current state of affairs; portraying the centre as hostile to Muslims.
The activist said that the foundation was laid in September 2021. Campus Front of India (CFI), the notorious student arm of the radical Islamist group Popular Front of India, began a membership campaign at campuses across India, including Udupi.
Patel highlighted how the four supposed victims of the Hijab controversy, Aliya Assadi, Ayesha Hajeera Almas, Ayesha, and Muskaan, all started Twitter accounts exactly one month after the CFI launched its membership push. They then began using hashtag campaigns to promote CFI’s objective, according to him.
The activist provided screenshots of the four women’s Twitter accounts to back up his assertions. All except one joined Twitter in October 2021, as the activist accurately points out.
He shares multiple pieces of evidence on the existence of a synchronised effort by the CFI, PFI and the said girls to create a ruckus in the name of religion.
The activist also shares a timeline of lawyer Devadatt Kamat, who appeared in the Karnataka High Court to support Hijab. He revealed Kamat’s connection with Congress. The cases that the lawyer fought were at the behest of the mentioned political party.
Feminists come out in support of the Burqa
Over a thousand feminists, collective groups, attorneys, and individuals came together to denounce the exclusion of hijab-wearing students. The feminists said in a letter signed by over 1850 people that the hijab is just the latest pretext for imposing segregation on Muslim women and attacking them.
Over 130 groups across 15 states, including Awaaz-e-Nizwan, Feminists in Resistance, People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Saheli Women’s Resource Centre and more, signed the letter. Individuals such as Kavita Krishnan, Hasina Khan, Aruna Roy, Safoora Zargar, Khalida Parveen and others also signed.
