Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday said that all high schools and colleges in the state will remain shut for the next three days amid an ongoing row over ‘hijab’.
Tension had prevailed at some educational institutions in Udupi, Shivamogga, Bagalkote and other parts of the state, during protests for and against hijab today.
Udupi, Karnataka Hijab Controversy Live News, Bangalore Today Updates, 8 February: Karnataka High Court hearing on plea against hijab ban ends for the day, to continue tomorrow.
With the High Court hearing a batch of PILs questioning the order issued by the state government prescribing uniforms in college and school campuses claiming that wearing hijab is an essential religious practice as prescribed by the Quran, tension over the issue has spread to several colleges in Karnataka.
Bommai has also appealed for peace.
“I appeal to all the students, teachers and management of schools and colleges as well as people of Karnataka to maintain peace and harmony. I have ordered closure of all high schools and colleges for next three days. All concerned are requested to cooperate,” Bommai said in a tweet.
Tension prevailed at some educational institutions in Karnataka’s Udupi, Shivamogga, Bagalkote and other parts over the ‘Hijab’ issue, forcing the police and authorities to intervene.This even as the Karnataka High Court is today hearing the petitions filed by five girls studying in a Government Pre-university College in Udupi, questioning hijab restriction in college. PTI KSU ROH ROH
The day started with high drama outside the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial (MGM) College in Udupi after students arrived wearing saffron turbans and shawls to counter students who arrived wearing the hijab.
This even as the Karnataka High Court is today hearing the petitions filed by five girls studying in a Government Pre-university College in Udupi, questioning hijab restriction in college.
As protests for and against the ‘hijab’ intensified in different parts of Karnataka, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday declared a holiday to high schools and colleges in the state for the next three days. The controversy over the Hijab wearing girls being denied entry into their colleges in Karnataka intensified on Tuesday with Hijab-clad women and saffron shawl wearing boys confronting each other at some educational institutions in Udupi, Shivamogga, Bagalkote and other parts, forcing the police and authorities to intervene. A minor stone petting incident has been reported near a college in Bagalkote and a few students even tried to barge into the campus, whom police dispersed using mild force.
Reflecting on the issue, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said everyone should follow the dress code in schools and alleged that some politicians and fanatics made it an issue.