Hijab controversy and nurturing freedom of choice

Behind the controversy generated by the hijab lurks the fanaticism among Hindu and Muslim communities, which is stoking the fire of communalism

The hijab controversy that erupted in February, and the subsequent protests in Karnataka and the rest of the country, along with the fretting and fuming among mullahs and sadhus, the deep political and communal divide, prolonged litigation and now a split verdict in the Supreme Court, reminded me of a story from my school days - 'All about a dog' by A G Gardiner.

On a freezing windy night in England, a young lady carrying a tiny Pekingese dog boards a double decker bus, along with two companions. When the conductor issues them the tickets, his eyes fall on the dog tucked inside the folds of the lady’s overcoat.

He orders the lady to take the dog upstairs, to the open-air deck. The lady refuses. Her companions and other passengers chime in their agreement. The conductor insists. “You must take the dog out. These are my orders," he barks, adding that the bus will not go on until the dog is brought out. He was hard as the night and cold as the pavement. A few passengers get off the bus.

A policeman passes by and a few ladies complain to him. The policeman talks to the conductor, but eventually shrugs and says, “Well, he has got the rules you know," and walks off. The bus starts to empty.

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The young lady relents and agrees to go up. The conductor looks triumphant and the bus resumes its journey. In his hour of victory, he walks up to the lone passenger left in the bus and says "I have got my rules."

"Rules," the passenger replies, “are necessary things... some rules cannot be broken without danger to life and limb. But rules are rules for guidance, like that rule about dogs. You can use your common sense here. They are meant to be observed in the spirit, not in the letter, for comfort of the passengers. You have kept the rule and broken its spirit. You should mind your rules with a little goodwill and good temper."

This year, when teachers slammed the gates of colleges on girls wearing the hijab, citing rules on college uniforms, I wondered if they had used their common sense. Recalling that Hindu girls also wear bindis and bangles while dressed in uniforms, if they were a bit more sensitive and interpreted the rules with goodwill and a good temper, matters would have turned out differently. Instead, adhering blindly to the letter and thereby killing the spirit drove a wedge, wittingly or unwittingly, between the Hindu and Muslim communities.

"A mind all logic is like a knife all blade. It makes the hand bleed that uses it," said Rabindranath Tagore.

On the other hand, shouldn't the parents of Muslim girls also ensure that they are not imposing age-old ideas and dress codes on their children? Should the men bind women to Shariat laws and treat them as their possessions? Should the girls not be afforded the freedom of choice in dress, lifestyle and careers? While some women may choose to embrace traditional Islamic practices, young girls must also be encouraged to forge their own paths, even if that means embracing modernity and engaging with an egalitarian identity.

I remember my grandmother narrating how as a young widow, her flowing tresses were tonsured, her bangles smashed, her mangalsutra removed, and the kumkum wiped off her forehead, in accordance with a barbaric ritual, even as she grieved the death of her husband. She was then given a drab saree that widows were expected to wear and consigned to a corner of the house in a joint family. She was considered a bad omen at weddings and other celebrations, so she always hovered in the shadows. How cruel and inhuman.

In her later years, with education and economic progress, the old, repressive ways of a male-dominated society gave way to remarriage of widows. With the freedom that came with it, women chose to become doctors, engineers, teachers, singers, dancers and actors.

Yet, my grandmother continued to live conditioned by a primitive tradition. But she encouraged her children and grandchildren to adopt modern lifestyles and stand on their own feet. Should not all young girls be allowed to nurture similar dreams?

Ugly forces

Of late, ugly primitive forces are rearing their heads among Hindu communities through moral policing, khap panchayats, honour killings, and the violent repression of those from other faiths.

This is evident not just in the actions of teachers, but also those of maulvis, mullahs and clerics of Islam, as well as priests, saadhus and sants of Hinduism. Should they not preach and interpret their religious texts with common sense, tinctured with goodwill and good temper instead of rigidly following the letter, forgetting the lofty spirit of their great religion? Especially considering that many texts have, over the centuries, been distorted and are not relevant in today’s context.

Though religion has been an anchor and source of strength for millions over millennia, those who preach their precepts have also spawned religious wars, spewed hatred and perpetuated ignorance, fear, cruelty and superstition, subjugating people and oppressing women to gain power.

Our youth are caught in a cleft stick between student organisations like SFI, NSUI, ABVP and fanatical outfits and politicians on both sides of the religious and ideological divide who are constantly stirring the communal pot. How do we protect them?

Professor S Radhakrishnan, writing in his preface to the The Principal Upanishads said it eloquently, “There is much in our past that is degrading and deficient but there is also much that is life giving and elevating...While the fundamental motives, the governing ideas, which constitute the essential spirit of our culture are a part of our very being, they should receive changing expression according to the needs and conditions of our time.”