In 1993, after a long hiatus, the city had in place a popular government. BJP leader Madanlal Khurana became Chief Minister, the first to occupy the chair after the assembly was dissolved in 1956. The 1990s was also the time when mosquito-driven ailment dengue started to make its formidable presence in the city. Khurana’s cabinet had a young medical professional, Dr. Harshvardhan, as Health Minister. In the midst of one of those early dengue waves, the Delhi government issued a notification asking schools to replace skirts with trousers for girl students to cover their legs.
This led to a hue and cry with rights groups pointing out that it was a step towards saffronisation of education. The government was at pains to point out that Aedesaegypti — dengue and other related fever-causing viruses — attacked during morning hours and in the lower portion of the body, thus the precaution advisory. But there weren’t many takers for it.
Now the activists are fighting to allow girls to be fully covered. The issue recently gained attention when students at a high school in Karnataka’s Udupi district resented what was termed as a hijab ban. The college, on the other hand, said it allowed students to wear the hijab on campus but had asked them to remove it after entering the classroom.
This incident has snowballed into a controversy that is witnessing protests on the streets and the closure of schools and colleges. Even foreign nations have seen this as an opportunity to fish in troubled waters. The matter is now in the High Court. However, the question is whether this is a crisis or just a controversy. Incidentally, there is also a ‘liberal’ interpretation of wearing hijab. According to this definition, women who choose to wear the hijab do so to retain their modesty, morals and freedom of choice. They choose to cover because they believe it is liberating and allows them to avoid harassment.
Whatever the argument, the fact remains hijab and the Arabic scarf that the Muslim men wear these days, was something unknown till the turn of the century. On the Delhi University campus in our time, which was in the 1980s, we had lots of college mates from the minority-dominated walled city area and one doesn’t remember anybody coming wearing a hijab, skull camp or scarf.
The Urdu department in colleges on the North Campus that almost completely had Muslim teachers and students, these signs of religion were unknown. In fact, some women teachers and students carried the ‘burqa’ in their bags, which they probably wore on entering the four walls of the old city.
So was the story among the Hindus with temple visits on Tuesday for paying obeisance to ever-popular Lord Hanuman being after college hours. In fact, some of the non-Muslim residents would protest for the mess menu being completely vegetarian on Tuesdays. Anyway, the vegetarian menu was not in deference to any religious sentiments, but on account of the Delhi government abattoir having its weekly closure on Tuesday. Religion on campus largely remained personal and the celebrations aimed at bridging the religious divide. One is not sure if the same cultural environment prevails on the Delhi University campus today.
It is difficult to believe that the campus would have remained untouched by the toxic environment prevailing all around. Hopefully, the turmoil remains restricted to one district and does not spread, the chances of which are very high. Campuses in the country can definitely have better issues to debate on than lock horns on religious symbols.
Sidharth Mishra
Author and president, Centre for Reforms, Development & Justice