Children don't go to schools to practice religion: Karnataka Home Minister after row over hijabs, saffron shawls

Children don't go to schools to practice their religion, he said

Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra on Thursday said children should neither wear the hijab nor saffron shawls when they go to school even as he directed the police to “watch” religious outfits in the coastal region where confrontation is brewing.

“Children don't go to schools to practice their religion. They should go to school thinking they're children of Bharat Mata. Inside a school compound, there should not be hijab or saffron shawls,” Jnanendra told reporters.

He was reacting to more than 100 Hindu students wearing saffron shawls at a government pre-university college in Kundapur to counter Muslim girls who sported headscarves.

Also read | Hijab row: 'Issue TC, kick those girl students out of school', says Muthalik

“There are religious organisations that seem to have different ideas when it comes to India’s unity. So, I have asked the police to watch them,” Jnanendra said.

For a month now, eight Muslim girls have been protesting for their "right" to attend class wearing headscarves at a government women’s pre-university college in Udupi.

“The education minister has already said that there is a prescribed uniform that students should stick to. Students of all religions should sit together and study with the feeling that they’re children of the same mother. There are churches, mosques and temples where religious activities can be followed. But, in a school where an academic atmosphere is needed our children should have the culture of promoting India's unity,” Jnanendra argued.

Also read: Udupi girl's college not to allow hijab in classrooms

New SDRF vehicles

Earlier in the day, Home Minister Araga Jnanendra flagged off at least 30 new vehicles that the government has purchased for the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF). Jnanendra said they include ambulances and even diesel generator sets for remote areas where there is no electricity. “We’ve spent Rs 20 crore to procure the new vehicles and equipment,” he said.

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