Amid Karnataka hijab row, Aligarh college bans students wearing religious attire

A college
in the Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh has prevented students from wearing
hijabs and saffron scarfs amid a raging controversy in Karnataka over
restrictions imposed on Muslim girls wearing a headscarf in educational
institutions.

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According
to news agency ANI, DS College in Aligarh has banned students from entering
the college campus for not following the dress code imposed on them.

“We’ll
not allow students to enter the campus with covered faces. Students are not
allowed to wear saffron stole or hijab on college premises,” said the
college’s principal, Dr Raj Kumar Verma.

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The college
issued the order a day after students of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) staged
a protest on the university campus in a bid to extend support to their fellow
students in Karnataka, demanding their right to wear the hijab.

The
protesting students were seen raising slogans and carrying posters as they
marched into the campus.

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News agency
PTI reported that the students had also issued a written statement describing the ban
on hijab as an assault on their fundamental right given by the Indian constitution.

“We have
been compelled to lodge a protest when an incident took place in Karnataka in which
a young girl, protesting against the ban, was hounded by a group of vandals. We
salute the brave girls of Karnataka,” read the statement.

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Meanwhile,
in Karnataka, Muslim students have continued to protest against the ban of the
headscarf on campuses.

Protests
were witnessed across colleges in the districts of Chikmagalur, Udupi,
Shivamogga, Gadag and Chitradurga. As the protest became large, the Karnataka
police also threatened to book a section of agitating students for preventing colleges to function normally.

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Currently,
a hearing on the ban on hijab at educational institutions is underway at the
Karnataka high court. In its interim order, the court had last week stopped the
students from wearing any religious attire to educational institutions until a
final verdict is given.