BENGALURU: Members of some Hindu organisations staged a protest in the city on Wednesday against the Karnataka Examination Authority’s (KEA) decision allowing Muslim students to wear hijab while writing recruitment-related examinations to be held on October 28 and 29.
“The Karnataka government has unnecessarily brought the hijab issue into limelight again despite the court’s strict guidelines that it is not allowed in educational institutions,” said Santosh Kenchamba, founder of Rashtra Dharma Sangathan.
Addressing the media, Kenchamba said the issue is being highlighted again by the state government ahead of the Lok Sabha elections to garner the votes of the minority community.
Citing the 2006 Sachar Committee report, Kenchamba said the government must take steps to make the education system affordable and inclusive with minorities joining mainstream educational institutions. Instead, the government is taking decisions that lead to divisions in society on communal lines, he added. Earlier at a progress review meeting with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Higher Education Minister MC Sudhakar, it was decided that Muslim students will be allowed to wear hijab while writing exams.
In 2022, protests erupted in different parts of the state over the hijab controversy. The previous BJP government in the state issued orders banning students from wearing hijab in educational institutions, he said. Sharadh Kumar, district coordinator, Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, said the state government is overruling the High Court’s decision.
Hijab was banned to ensure uniformity among students inside school and college premises. There is no need for students to wear hijab or saffron scarf inside educational institutions. “This decision of the state government is not right,” he added.