NEW DELHI: Amid the hijab row in Karnataka, Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Wednesday said some people are giving "communal colour" to a decision on dress code and discipline of institutions as part of their "conspiracy to defame India's inclusive culture".
With Pakistani ministers Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Chaudhary Fawad Hussain wading into the hijab row, criticising India over the issue, Naqvi also shot back saying Pakistan, which is a "jungle of crime and cruelty" for minorities, is preaching India on tolerance and secularism.
The reality is that the socio-educational-religious rights of minorities are being trampled brazenly in Pakistan, Naqvi told reporters here.
Equal rights, dignity and prosperity of the minorities, including Muslims, is a part of India's commitment to tolerance, harmony and inclusivity, he asserted.
He pointed out that out of every 10 Muslims living in the world, one lives in India, there are more than three lakh active mosques in India and there is an equal number of other places of worship of the Muslim community.
There are more than 50,000 madrassas and more than 50,000 minority educational institutions, he said.
Besides, minority communities are equally benefitting from all other institutions and facilities in the country, he added.
While there were 1,288 temples in Pakistan before independence, only 31 are left now, Naqvi said.
Minorities' population in Pakistan, which was about 23 per cent of the total population during the Partition, has now been reduced to even below three per cent, he said.
While in India, the population of minority communities which was about 9 per cent of the total population during the Partition, has now increased to over 22 per cent, the minister said.
He asserted that minorities in India are flourishing equally along with fellow citizens with a sense of equality, security and prosperity.
Hitting out at the Congress and other Opposition parties that have accused the BJP of polarisation, Naqvi said the "Bharat bashing brigade" has unfortunately once again received the support of Pakistan by those who are "misinformed on uniform".
Some people are giving "communal colour" to a decision on dress code, discipline and decorum of institutions as a part of their "conspiracy to defame India's inclusive culture and commitment", Naqvi said.
The hijab controversy first erupted in January at a government PU College in Udupi, where six students who attended classes wearing headscarf in violation of the stipulated dress code were asked to leave the campus, has spread to different parts of the state with Hindu students too responding by turning up in saffron shawls.
Such saffron-clad students are also being barred from entering classes.
The row has also taken a political colour as the ruling BJP stood strongly in support of uniform-related rules being enforced by educational institutions, calling the headscarf, a religious symbol, while the opposition Congress has come out in support of Muslim girls.
Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik on Wednesday asked whether the Sangh Pariwar and the BJP will decide what one will eat or wear in the country and alleged it is the violation of fundamental rights of citizens.
Taking to Twitter, Malik, who is the national spokesperson of the Nationalist Congress Party, also questioned whether Muslim girls going to schools/colleges was a problem and wondered what has happened to the 'Beti Padhao' (educate girls) slogan of the Centre.
"Whether the BJP and Sangh Parivar will now decide what one will eat or wear in this country? This is a violation of the fundamental rights of the citizens. Muslim girls are going to schools and colleges, are studying. Is that a problem? What happened to the slogan of Beti Padhao?" Malik asked in Hindi on the micro-blogging site.
In another tweet, the Maharashtra minority affairs minister said that the 'idea of India' is about tolerance, equality and unity and educational institutions should become the centres for teaching these values.
Malik also shared a graphic purportedly depicting a Muslim woman raising slogan for her rights.
"Felt this pic powerful because an empowered woman is fighting for her 'Right to Education and her 'Choice for clothes'. #HijabIsOurRight," he added.
Protests for and against the 'hijab' had intensified in parts of Karnataka and turned violent in some places on Tuesday after the state government last week issued an order making uniforms prescribed by it or management of private institutions mandatory for its students in schools and pre-university colleges.
Nearly 500 students of Kolkata's Aliah University on Wednesday took out a rally in Park Circus area, with many women wearing hijab, amid a row over sporting the headscarf in Karnataka.
The participants, carrying the national flag, travelled around Entally and Park Circus before returning to their campus.
"As citizens of India, we have the right to decide what we wear and the right to follow our own religious practises," read placards in Bengali, English and Hindi held by the students, referring to the controversial developments in the southern state over wearing hijab.
"Down with right-wing forces that want us to go back to the medieval ages," texts on some other posters read.
Incidents of stone-pelting and use of force by police were reported in Karnataka on Tuesday, as the hijab ban row escalated and protests by students spread to more colleges, prompting the state government to declare a three-day holiday for all educational institutions.
The hijab controversy first erupted in January at a government PU College in Udupi, where six students who attended classes wearing the headscarf in violation of the stipulated dress code were asked to leave the campus.
The row has spread to different parts of the state with Hindu students responding by turning up in saffron shawls.
It has also taken a political colour, as the ruling BJP has stood strongly in support of the uniform-related rules being enforced by educational institutions, calling the headscarf, a religious symbol, while the opposition Congress has come out in support of Muslim girls.
There was no untoward incident as the rally in Kolkata covered a distance of around 2 km, a police officer said.
"We have nothing to comment on developments taking place outside the campus," a varsity spokesperson added.