Hijab unfazed

Maijabeen G. Choudhary

To say the least, the throng at the gate is an eyesore. Hijab clad students pleading for entry into their own college makes me wonder what was veiled – the head of the students or the mindset of the institution. Discipline as evident was more lost than gained. Nothing can justify the hounding of a solitary girl right to the gates of her college by a crowd of blatant boys. Commitment shifting gears from essence of knowledge to blind compliance of ‘rules’ is not palatable in a nation that for centuries never did make a fuss of resources and has celebrated the attainment of knowledge under trees, in homes, mosques and temples. Of the most heart-warming scenes that define India are children studying under street lamps, young students volunteering as teachers to teach poor kids on footpaths and shabby bastis. It is in pulling each other up that we rise together.

Hijab has haunted us before but the scene outside government PU college in Udupi is particularly intriguing because the crowd is uniform. As Indians we have always upheld religion as a source of empowerment and not disruption, So is the classic reassurance that resonates in every truly Indian Morcha brimming with unity in diversity, the bone marrow of the Indian Constitution. Farmers were never left alone to fend for their fields. Every Indian felt Nirbhaya’s pain. Didn’t we together line our highways with food for all those labourers who were stranded in the lockdown? Why has ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ suddenly lost steam on this turf? Indifference, if not hate, isn’t love either. Don’t we speak by not speaking? No storms on social media to let the girls in. Twitterati seems unbothered. Or perhaps too caught up with designer handbags and fairytale weddings of celebrities. In fact, a counter protest in saffron shawls is a scratch on the surface of a deeper rot brewing inside. Homes and colonies have been ghettoised. Is education the next casualty?

This mayhem raises many concerns. It brings to the fore invisible cracks that need an urgent filling up. It bars education from not just those outside the gate but equally impacts students inside the classroom too. Henceforth, a class on Constitution will lack conviction. How can you uphold it while disgracing it in your own campus? Lessons on the right to equality and religious freedom will sound like shallow monologues. How can selfworth and identity pride be inculcated amongst students when it is punched in the face right outside the door? The term secularism seems unwelcome in more places than just election campaigns. It scares me to imagine it’s fallout in a society where the youth are not taught about brotherhood and camaraderie as seriously as they learn about Einstein and Shakespeare. If education that breaks shackles and liberates minds breeds polarisation, it should be treated as a wakeup call.

Time flies. Winds change direction. Having graduated two decades earlier I feel a sense of loss for my teenage daughter who will embark on her educational journey now. I fondly reminisce about my college days when my hijab was never an issue with teachers, friends and staff alike. I carried it like my skin. Occasional discussions centred around the belief behind it would happen and I was in fact lauded for sticking to it in scorching heat too. Fun times included friends trying my hijab and niqab, posing for some memorable snaps. I would never wish my experience to end up as grandma tales in a distant land.

As Indians we have always upheld religion as a source of empowerment and not disruption, As Indians we have always upheld religion as a source of empowerment and not disruption, that marches with us wherever we go. As we gaze at the stars, striving to put the Indian flag on the moon lets us not stumble on roadblocks that throw open the reverse gear. Udupi should be made a case in isolation and stopped from setting a precedent. It disturbs not just the education of protesting students but the very ethos of our national culture. How much the nation will benefit if the same energies are diverted towards tackling the drug menace and eve teasing in colleges is anybody’s guess.

Knowledge does not end with the closing of gates. The solution does not just involve finding other options for securing academic degrees. It has to be ascertained in crystal clear terms whether we prioritise the education of Indian girls against all odds or give in to radicalisation. Students can be shut out, not their dignity and determination. In banning headscarves few can be intimidated but most will wrap it around tighter and more securely for hijab is more than a piece of cloth. No amount of heckling will deter them. Education after all is a birthright that encompasses one and all. It cannot be bartered for a girl’s hijab just as it cannot for a Sikh student’s dastar (t