Educating India

Just when students and parents were relieved that schools had opened, and life and studying were getting backon track– a new dress code, all of a sudden, was introduced in a pre-university college in Karnataka’s Udupi district. The students who did not comply with the new dress code were not allowed to attend classes. The students– who happened to be hijab-wearing girls– protested for their right to education and dress. The issue escalated into a statewide closing down of schools and colleges for three days. Opening of pre-university and degree colleges is still under review.

Where does all this leave the students? And how i mportant is uniformity of d ress code i n educational institutes in India wherewe have more pressing educationrelated p roblems?

You have heard national level politicians, the media, and intellectuals talk on the matter. Let’s see what the public has to say about this. Mehek Mudassir finds out.

Part-6 of the PU board admission guidelines mentions that there shall be no provision for a uniform in colleges. Thus the argument that students are being asked to remove the hijab because it spoils the spirit of uniformity is absurd. Certain college managements are dictating rules under the pressure of fundamentalist organisations or in furtherance of their agenda of hate. India has always rejected theories of hate and this hatred towards the hijab shall be rejected too. It is 2022 and the problems that India is facing are poverty, malnutrition, unemployment, and so on. These are the topics that the youth should be discussing — Mohammed Zabiulla Khan, law intern, Mysuru

The Constitution guarantees freedom to profess, practise, and propagate religion. But, the State can put forth restrictions on this right on grounds of decency, public order, morality, and so on. Let’s not politicise the issue and tackle it with a scientifi c temper which is benefi cial to society. — Dr.Vagdevi H S, Professor St. Philomena’s College, Mysuru

Educational institutions are temples of knowledge, and represent the values of equality and unity. Playing politics for a piece of cloth, and not just any ordinary piece of cloth but one that is symbolic of the dignity and respect of a woman, doesn’t suit a place of learning. The irony is we come from a land where the Kauravas lost their entire kingdom to the Pandavas because of the vastra haran; where our PM propagates Beti Bachao, Beti Padao; where Dr. B.R. Ambedkar fought against inequality and the exploitation of the minority. This is the spirit of India embedded in our Constitution. Making a woman remove a piece of cloth symbolic of her dignity is not a part of our culture. We are entering dark times where the spirit of India and its Constitution is fading against the propaganda of the fascists. —Abdulla Mannan Khan, Advocate, Mysuru

Education should be the priority, not hijab or saffron shawls. The professors and principals are just asking you to remove the hijab in the classrooms; they are not taking your religious rights away from you. Young minds are now distracted from education to religion. We should be protesting for things like hunger, poverty, and employment but not for a piece of cloth. —Depanshu Singh, New Delhi

Covering her head is the right of every woman. It is being practised in all communities. Bowing down to pressure from some fringe elements by colleges and the government is shameful and condemnable. Instead of harassing innocent girls, the government should arrest the culprits who are sowing the seeds of hatred in our country. — Rafath Khan, SDPI Mysuru

It’s grimly ironical that while Hindu girls are allowed in colleges with bindis and Sikhs with turbans, Muslim girls have been singled out for donning a hijab. If this is not double standards, if this is not playing to the gallery to accumulate political brownie points, if this is not enforcing a communal agenda, what else is? —Dr. Irfan Ahmed Riazi, Mysuru

Why is the hijab so important in the classroom? Culture and traditions should be followed at home, not in educational institutions. Violence is spreading all around just because of the hijab, and schools are closed due to it. —Kiran Gowda, Bangaluru

The college authorities insist that students comply with a uniform that doesn’t permit hijab in the classroom. The girls in hijab have been staging a democratic protest, defending their right to education, as well as their right to religion. In a religiously polarised climate, it is not surprising that the issue has got politicised with ministers jumping into the fray. While the college authorities are free to decide their own rules, they cannot violate the fundamental rights granted by the Constitution. —Shreeja M.P, Journalism student, St.Philomena’s j College, Mysuru

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