- Dilnavas Pasha
- BBC correspondent
Image source, UMESH MARPALLY
The controversy, which started at a college in Udupi, Karnataka, has now reached the Karnataka High Court. The case, which was heard by a single judge, has been transferred to a three-judge bench comprising the Chief Justice of the High Court.
The students’ petitions are currently being heard by a bench comprising Karnataka Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice Jayapunnisa Mogihudeen Kazi on Thursday. The next hearing has been adjourned to Monday.
What’s the matter?
Support for their struggle, which began in January 2022, began to grow. The local administration and the college administration tried to find a solution through negotiations with the families of the students but to no avail.
A three-judge session is currently hearing the case as students have approached the High Court over their right to wear the hijab.
Meanwhile, some Hindu groups urged Hindu students to wear saffron shawls and tops.
Students in Karnataka are divided into two groups. One supports the hijab and the other opposes it.
Controversy over the hijab has arisen in many parts of the country as politics has joined the fray.
What does the constitution say?
Faisal Mustafa, a constitutional expert and associate of the NALSAR University of Law (NALSAR) in Hyderabad, says the controversy over the hijab is more a matter of personal rights than religion.
“The Constitution grants certain personal rights to citizens. These personal rights include the right to privacy, the right to religion, the right to life, and the right to equality. Says Faizan Mustafa.
The question also arises as to whether educational institutions can set a dress code or uniform. “The school has the right to determine its own dress code, but in doing so it violates any fundamental right,” he says.
So, can any educational institution create rules related to uniforms and force students to follow them?
Image source, UMESH MARPALLY
“Under the Education Act, the education system has no right to determine the uniforms. Even if an organization makes rules, those rules cannot be outside the purview of the law,” he explains.
There is also the question of the right to religious freedom guaranteed under the Constitution.
Explaining its limits, Faizan Mustafa noted that “the extent of the right to freedom of religion can be defined in terms of public interest, morality and health.”
The question now arises as to whether wearing the hijab transcends such a limit.
“It is not immoral for a person to wear the hijab. It is not against any public interest. It is clear that there is no violation of any other fundamental right,” says Faizan Mustafa.
The main problem before the court in this controversy is that on the one hand there is the independence of the educational system and on the other there is the freedom of the individual.
“So the court has to make a uniform decision. We can say that we will not allow the full hijab to cover the face, but to cover the head or wear a scarf,” Faizan Mustafa said.
Image source, UMESH MARPALLY/BBC
Hindutva students wearing saffron tops marched in protest of the hijab.
Controversy that has occurred before
Controversies over the hijab have already reached the courts.
Christ Nagar High School students in Kerala go to court against the school ban on wearing hijab.
In his 2018 judgment, Kerala High Court Judge A. Mohammad Mushtaq had said that students have the same fundamental right to dress as they wish, just as a school has the right to ensure that all students wear the uniforms recommended for them.
The Deccan Herald reports that the Kerala High Court’s verdict has been hotly debated during the Karnataka hijab controversy.
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Fatima Dasneem and Hafsa Parveen told the court at the time that they were not allowed to come to school wearing full sleeves and nakab. The school administration denied the allegations, saying it was against the school’s dress code.
“The main advantage in this case goes to the administration of the education system. If the administration is not given full independence in the administration and administration of the institution, it is a violation of their fundamental right.
Image source, UMESH MARPALLY/BBC
The Constitution seeks to integrate multiple interests within its framework without contradiction or precedence. However, when interests take precedence, public interests should take precedence over personal interests. This is the essence of freedom.
“Conflict over competitive rights can be resolved not by infringing on any individual right, but by maintaining the relationship between the educational institution and the students and maintaining a broader right,” the judge noted.
The ruling of the High Court was immediately implemented by the Muslim Education Association (MES), which runs more than a hundred educational institutions.
Constitutional expert Faizan Mustapha says the Kerala High Court’s verdict will not bind the Karnataka High Court.
Growing controversy over the hijab
The controversy over the hijab, which started in Udupi, Karnataka, has spread across the country. Demonstrations in support of the hijab took place on Wednesday in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh area.
“If the issue of hijab becomes a big issue, it is a matter of great regret because the work of children is to study, not to do politics. It is to study the work of both groups that support and oppose the hijab,” Faizan Mustafa said.
Image source, UMESH MARPALLY/BBC
A video from Mandya in Karnataka is also going viral. In it, Hindu students wearing saffron tops chant slogans against a Muslim student. The student also retaliates by saying Allahu Akbar.
The question has also been raised as to whether Muslim women are trying to strengthen their identity through hijab. But Faizan Mustafa believes it is more a matter of choice than identity.
“It’s more personal freedom than religious freedom. Style is a part of one’s self – expression. It’s a kind of expression.”
“Whatever the issue of Shaheen Bagh or the hijab, Muslim women are trying to prove their constitutional rights strongly.”
The case regarding hijab is currently in court. Whatever the verdict, it can be challenged in the Supreme Court.
However, Faizan Mustafa believes that both sides need to show flexibility.
“I think both sides have to make some concessions. In a modern progressive society, it is not a good thing to adopt a conservative approach,” he pointed out.
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