In opposition to the Karnataka High Court’s verdict against Hijab, the call for a state-wide bandh given by Ameer-e-Shariat of Karnataka, Maulana Sagheer Ahmed Khan and Muslim organisations has received a good response in many districts across Karnataka on Thursday.
Muslims chose to shut their business, shops and hotels to support the bandh in Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Bhatkal, Udupi, Mysuru, Gulbarga, Kanakpura, Chennapatna, Hirekerur, Yadgir, Tumkur, Shivamogga, Hoskote, Bidar, Raichur, and other districts and towns.
In Bengaluru, parts of the city remained empty on Thursday, March 17, in areas including Commercial Street and Shivajinagar in the heart of Bengaluru, as several shops across the city in RT Nagar, Frazer Town, Tilak Nagar, Gurappan Palya, Ilyas Nagar, Minhaj Nagar, Neelsandra, Lakkasandra and Arekere had downed their shutters and fewer vehicles were seen on the roads.
In the wake of the Karnataka High Court verdict against hijab, Muslim groups led by Ameer-E-Shariat of Karnataka, Maulana Sagheer Ahmed Khan Rashadi had called for a state-wide bandh to express the community’s dissatisfaction against the order.
“Expressing our anger against the sad order of the Karnataka High Court regarding hijab, a state-wide bandh will be observed on Thursday,” Maulana Rashadi stated, as he appealed to the entire Muslim community to support the bandh between 6 am and 6 pm.
The verdict has been slammed by Muslim leaders and organisations across the country as “unacceptable”. Many organisations questioned the court’s right to interpret religious texts. “It is not the job of courts to interpret what is essential or non-essential about any faith,” they said.
A day before the state-wide bandh call, many businesses had closed their stores voluntarily in protest against the High Court’s verdict in Karnataka’s Bhatkal.
The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday upheld the State government order effectively banning the wearing of hijab by Muslim girl students in educational institutions in Karnataka, after hearing the matter for 11 days. The three-judge bench adjudicated that the wearing of the hijab is not an essential religious practice in Islam.
Two students have moved the Supreme Court against the High Court’s verdict, which the SC has said will be heard after Holi.
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Rushda Fathima Khan is the Staff Reporter for The Cognate.
