An advocate has written to the Karnataka Minority Welfare Department seeking immediate withdrawal of its circular, which restrains students of all schools and colleges under the department from wearing hijab, scarf, saffron shawls and religious flags to classrooms, citing the High Court’s interim order on the hijab issue.
Minority Welfare, Hajj and Wakf Department Secretary P Manivannan in a circular issued on Wednesday had said that the Karnataka High Court has in its interim order restrained students from wearing saffron shawls, scarves, hijab, religious flags in the classroom until further orders.
“The High Court order is applicable to residential schools, colleges, Maulana Azad Model English Medium schools coming under the Minority Welfare Department,” he said in the circular. “Against this background, wearing saffron shawl, scarves, hijab or any other religious flags is prohibited in the schools and colleges and Maulana Azad Model English Medium schools, which come under the department,” the circular said.
Adv Anwar Ali D. Nadaf has written that the department’s circular violates the High Court order it has cited and is in violation of Article 13(2) of the Indian Constitution.
Article 13(2) of the Constitution says that the State must not make laws that are not in ‘consonance’ with the Constitution. And if the law drafted intervened with an individual’s fundamental rights, the said law will become void to the extent of the contravention.
He said the court order is specific to institutions that have a College Development Committee (CDC) and the CDC has prescribed uniforms. “It doesn’t in any manner include Schools and other institutions where CDC has not prescribed a uniform,” Adv Nadaf said.
“That, you have misinterpreted the order of the Hon’ble High Court and forcibly trying to execute the circular to be implemented including residential schools and colleges which is a clear violation of fundamental rights as well as contempt of the High Court Order,” Adv Nadaf has written.
“If CDC exists in the educational institution and if they have not prescribed any uniform, then the order is not applicable, therefore they can not implement the order and ask students to remove the hijab”, he said.
He also reiterated that the term college is sufficient to understand that this order is limited only to those colleges where CDC is formed and have prescribed the dress code/uniform.
He said the institutions are forcibly trying to implement the circular, including residential schools and colleges, which is a clear violation of fundamental rights and contempt of the court.
“Nobody can ask students to remove their hijabs and abstain from attending class,” he said.
As schools till Standard X reopened across Karnataka early this week, Muslim students were coerced to remove the hijab if they wanted to attend classes.
Visuals from schools and colleges across the state showed Muslim students being refused entry into school premises if they did not remove their hijab.
On Friday, a Muslim lecturer at Jain PU College in Tumkuru resigned reportedly after she was asked to remove her Hijab while entering the college.
The lecturer, Ms. Chandini submitted her resignation to the Principal of the College stating that the Right to Religion is a Constitutional Right that nobody could deny.
In her letter, she further added that she condemns the “undemocratic act” of demanding her to remove the Hijab which she was carrying for three years.
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