Guwahati: Around 23 female students at Uppinangady Government First Grade College in Karnataka were suspended for holding a demonstration requesting the right to wear the hijab in class last week.
The BJP MLA from Puttur Senjeeva Matandoor, who is also the chairman of the college development committee (CDC), was quoted by PTI as saying, “The students staged a demonstration so they were suspended on Monday.”
According to reports, the females arrived at the college in Puttur Taluk in Dakshina Kannada district wearing Hijab in protest and demanding permission to wear the headscarf.
The decision to suspend all those involved was made during the CDC meeting on Monday.
It may be noted that the panel has previously suspended seven female students for wearing the hijab on campus.
Despite a March decision from the Karnataka High Court, the girls have insisted on wearing the hijab. The HC had determined that it was not an essential religious practise and that everyone should follow the school’s uniform dress policy.
The state government’s decree prohibiting any apparel that could disrupt the peace and public order within educational institutions was likewise upheld by the court.
The decision came after a big outcry over the matter, when a group of female students from a government pre-university institution in the Udupi district petitioned the High Court after being barred from attending lessons in Hijab when some Hindu students began wearing saffron stoles in protest.
Karnataka’s schools and institutions were closed for a week to put the situation under control in February.