Hijab wasn't an issue when uniforms were introduced in Karnataka: Former minister

Karnataka High Court on Friday passed an order restricting students from wearing religious attire of any kind on school premises

As the debate on whether hijab should be part of school or college uniform rages, former Karnataka education minister has said that when uniforms were introduced in the 1980s, the Ramakrishna Hegde-led government had decided to allow Muslim students to wear a headscarf, a move the BJP had supported.

M Raghupathy, the education minister in the Hegde cabinet, said when the uniforms were mandated, hijab was not a problem as "it would not disturb the academic environment in schools and colleges in any way".

“We had clearly specified that girl students belonging to the minority community wearing the hijab or a nun’s habit and coming to government institutions was not a problem because it would not disturb the academic environment in schools and colleges in any way,’’ he said in a Facebook post, recalling the state government's scheme of free uniforms for government school students in 1985.

Also read: Hijab row: Decision on reopening PU and degree colleges likely on Feb 14, says Karnataka Minister

Karnataka High Court on Friday passed an order restricting students from wearing hijab or shawls, irrespective of religion, to school or colleges until it reaches a verdict in the case.

Raghupathy later told The New Indian Express that the hijab issue was discussed back then and it was decided that since it is mandated by religion, students can wear it without any problem. The BJP had then extended outside support to the Janata Party, which formed the government, and had not objected to the hijab norm, Raghupathy told the publication.

The former minister also noted that women of other religions (like Christian nuns who wear habits and Jain women who don a covering over their heads) were also given an exemption.

The hijab controversy erupted in Karnataka's Udupi when college students wearing headscarves were not allowed to attend classes. Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai has shut colleges to maintain law and order as some students showed up in saffron shawls to counter the hijab-clad students, leading to clashes in some parts of the state.

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