Hijab-clad students of University College demand 'justice', give ultimatum of 2 days

The agitating students warned of a massive protest rally if their demands are not met

Mangalore University Students Coordination Committee (Vidyarthi Samanvaya Samithi) has demanded Mangalore University and the constituent college of Mangalore University, University College to give "justice" to the students who have been denied permission to attend classes wearing headscarves at University College in Mangaluru. The committee demanded that the issue be resolved in two days.

“If agitating students who have been demanding justice fail to get justice, then we will hold a massive protest rally by uniting students from across the district,” warned Samithi Chairman Riyaz and other students of University College who have been demanding the authorities to allow them to wear headscarves inside classrooms.

Gousiya, a final year degree student of University College in Mangaluru said, “We have been wearing hijab inside classrooms even after the High Court verdict. It was on May 16, we received a message from the college Principal directing all the students to wear uniforms and attend classes without hijab."

Also read: Six students suspended, 12 sent back for wearing hijab in Karnataka

Claiming that the High Court order on hijab is not applicable to university colleges, Gousiya said, “The Syndicate of the Mangalore University took a decision on banning headscarves inside the classrooms following a representation made by the ABVP students. There was no issue with hijab in the college all these days. It cropped up recently".

“We have approached the college Principal, Mangalore University Vice Chancellor and Deputy Commissioner, appealing to allow us to wear hijab inside the classrooms till the end of our academic year. Some of us will be completing our graduation in the next two to three months. The decision taken by the Syndicate in the middle of the academic year will hamper our studies,” she said.

"We were neither allowed to sit outside the classrooms wearing hijab nor visit the library to write our notes. A few of the ABVP-backed students had even harassed us inside the college campus by videographing us, commenting and abusing from behind and unnecessarily arguing with us. Some had flaunted saffron stole to us when we visited the college campus. We had even submitted a complaint to the college Principal on the harassment. However, no action was taken against them so far,” she lamented.

Also read | Karnataka HC Hijab Row Verdict: Key takeaways

She said that legal fight will take a long time. “Though we had urged the religious leaders from the community and like-minded organisations to come to our help, none responded so far. The prospectus of the University College stated that students are allowed to wear the veil of their uniform as a headscarf.”

"We are fighting for our rights and are hopeful of getting justice," she said.

However, following the High Court verdict, Mangalore University Syndicate in its meeting in May had adopted a resolution making uniform without hijab compulsory for students studying in its constituent colleges and paragraphs in prospectus pertaining to headscarves have been removed.

Recently, when ABVP-backed students staged a protest inside the college campus, outsiders too had joined the protest, the pro-hijab students alleged.

Further, they alleged that the college authorities had not even convened a meeting of the parents to discuss the decision of the Mangalore University Syndicate.