I Don't See the Difference
By: Veechika
It has been almost a month since the students at a Government Women’s Pre-University College in Udupi have been banned from wearing Hijabs within the premises of the institution. The administration claims that the move is meant to ensure ‘uniformity’ and has also initiated a ban on “saffron scarves”, in order to diffuse the tension.
This issue opens the doorway to other potential conflicts. This article discusses the future implications of the Hijab row.
The constitutional rights
At the top of our Constitution is the preamble, that makes a pledge to all the citizens, to secure:
Justice, social, economic and political
Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship
Equality of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all Fraternity, assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the nation.
Somehow, it seems that all these promises to the Muslim female students in hijab are being broken. Justice is being denied, because their interests are not being considered. Liberty of expression – wearing clothes of their choice – is being denied. Equality is being denied by keeping them out of the class, when others are let in. And, of course, the dignity promised in fraternity lies tattered at the sight of young girls being denied an education. And the exclusion of hijab wearing students from the premises of the college is a clear violation of Articles 14 and 25 of the Indian Constitution, which ensure the right to practice one’s religion freely.
The meaning of secularism
Indian secularism has never been about relegating religion or culture to the background. It has always been a part of our cultural make-up, and we have proudly lived in this diversity. The denial of religious freedom to one particular community marks a major shift of the idea of secularism.
Congress legislature party leader and former chief minister Siddaramaiah, accused the BJP and RSS of trying to create communal disharmony throughout the state in the name of hijab, and claimed that the main agenda of the government was to deny education to Muslim girls in the name of hijab.
"The Constitution has given the right to practice any religion which means one can wear any clothes according to their religion. Prohibiting hijab-wearing students from entering school is a violation of fundamental rights," he said.
Impact on education
An educational institution doing this in the middle of the academic year makes matters worse, as these students are now forced to file a writ petition before the Karnataka High Court in order to attend classes, when their exams are just two months away.
In all this, the time and opportunity to learn and grow are lost. The girls at the center of the protest have lost in the near term, but their classmates have also lost. And the longer-term loser is the state of Karnataka and India as a plural society and nation.
Throwing his weight behind Muslim girls, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said: "By letting students' hijab come in the way of their education, we are robbing the future of the daughters of India. Ma Saraswati gives knowledge to all. She doesn't differentiate."
Impact on youth
The sudden decision to lock gates on these students harms congenial relations on campus, force-creates a religious divide, and sends exactly the wrong message to the other students, who are all at an impressionable age and may well begin to buy into narrower approaches rather than an appreciation and celebration of the ethos of democracy, plurality and diversity – the bedrock on which education curricula ought to be built.
This is exactly what has happened with the throwback coming from those who want to wear saffron scarves and shawls, an ugly, whipped-up reaction in a place where minds should open, love can blossom, and friends are created for life.
Fundamental right or religious practice?
When asked if the ongoing hijab row in Karnataka is a matter of religion or is it also an issue of one’s fundamental right to privacy and to choose what to wear, Islamic scholar professor Zeenat Shaukat Ali, told The Federal, “As far as the constitution of India is concerned, a woman is allowed to dress as she chooses. It is her fundamental right to wear what she pleases. We aren’t talking about banning the hijab—we are talking about entering an educational institution with religious symbols. We need to reduce the debate to this area. Right now, we are talking about educational institutions; the rest we will see when it comes up.”
“Educational institutions must be neutral when it comes to religious symbolism. I don’t mean don’t follow your religion in an education institution…but don’t flaunt your religious symbolism,” she added.
“The word ‘hijab’ is used seven times in the Quran—but nowhere is it used in the context of clothing. It is used more like a metaphor, such as a veil between good and evil, god and human, etc.,” Ali concluded.
The future
The ruling BJP's state president and Member of Parliament Nalin Kumar Kateel said the government will not allow hijab at educational institutions and will take strict measures to ensure that things go as per rules of the school, and won't let things become "Taliban like".
But ironically it ended up exactly “Taliban like”. The girls there were denied education due to hardcore religious sentiments of some Muslims. Here the girls are denied education due to hardcore religious sentiments of some Hindus.
If we don’t debate about a certain person taking over as the chief minister, why is there so much debate over a bunch of girls wearing a hijab to college?
Sources:
https://thefederal.com/news/veil-not-mandatory-in-islam-indian-muslims-for-secular-democracy/
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